Apple iPad takes 90 per cent of the tablet market

IDC says about 17 million units shipped in 2010, with 44 million to follow in 2011

Nine out of 10 tablet devices in use today are Apple iPads, according to figures released by analyst firm IDC.

IDC's report also found that the tablet market grew by 45 per cent in the third quarter of 2010, driven almost exclusively by demand for the iPad. Vendors shipped 4.8 million units across the world in Q3 2010, compared with 3.3 million units in the Q2.

"The media tablet market's rapid evolution will continue to accelerate, with new product and service introductions, channel expansion, price competition and experimentation with new use cases among consumers and enterprises," said Susan Kevorkian, research director, mobile connected devices, at IDC.

Although the figures have yet to be collated and released, IDC expects to find that nearly 17 million tablets were shipped in 2010 in total. It predicts that 44.6 million will ship in 2011, then 70.8 million in 2012.

The report concludes that tablet industry growth in 2011 and beyond will be driven by vendors releasing media tablets based on Android and other operating systems, as well as price and feature competition and strong demand in both the consumer and commercial segments.