Apple iPad claims tablet dominance with over two-thirds of sales

Apple widens lead in red-hot gadget market

Apple's iPad accounted for 68 per cent of tablet sales in the second quarter of 2012.

Research firm IDC said that the Apple tablet has extended its lead in market share over the last year, growing its shipments by some 84 per cent. The company held a 61 per cent share of sales over the same period in 2011.

According to IDC, Apple shipped upwards of 17 million units on the quarter, up from 9.2 million iPads a year ago.

"The vast majority of consumers continue to favour the iPad over competitors, and Apple is seeing increasingly strong interest in the device from vertical markets - especially education," said IDC mobile connected devices research director Tom Mainelli.

"While iPad shipment totals are beginning to slow a bit in mature markets where the device saw early traction, growth in other regions is clearly more than making up the difference."

Samsung placed second in the rankings, growing its share from 7.3 to 9.6 per cent on the year with shipments up 117 per cent. Amazon debuted at third on the list, claiming a five per cent share with its Kindle brand.

Asus and Acer rounded out the rankings with market share of 3.4 and 1.5 per cent, respectively. Acer saw its share fall with a 38.7 per cent drop in shipments.

The growth among the top vendors came at the expense of smaller tablet manufacturers. IDC reported that tablet sales for firms outside of the top five fell from a 24.4 per cent share of the market to just 12.3 per cent.

Apple is expected to see its iPad sales climb even higher this Autumn when the company will likely be debuting a 7in iPad model. The tablet is rumoured to be among the unveilings at a special event scheduled for 12 September.