Tablets are going to overtake

In 2011, about 73 million tablets were shipped. This is 256% more than in 2010. Analysts are confident that by 2017, tablets will almost catch up with laptops in terms of supplies.

NPD DisplaySearch specialists have published their forecast for tablet shipments for 2011. According to their data, the total shipments of devices will amount to about 73 million tablets. This is 25.5% of the shipments of all mobile PCs in the past year. For comparison, in 2011, shipments of laptops reached 187.5 million (excluding netbooks). So the annual growth of tablet shipments will be 256%, and laptops only 12%.

Analysts are confident that tablet shipments will only grow over time. By 2017, their shipments will amount to 383.3 million devices. Laptop shipments will be slightly more – 432 million. Their main growth driver will be the ultrabooks that have recently appeared on the market.