New figures from analyst firm IHS have revealed that sales of
iPad tablets in the fourth quarter of 2011 were affected by its smaller cousin - the
iPhone 4S smartphone .
A total of 15.4 million
iPads were sold by
Apple in Q4 - up 39 per cent from the 11.1 million sold the previous quarter. However, its share of the
tablet PC market dipped from 64 per cent to 57 per cent over the same period, due to strong demand for the company’s latest
iPhone and to a smaller extent, the release of Amazon’s
Kindle Fire tablet .
Rhoda Alexander, senior manager, tablet and monitor research for IHS, said: "Shipments of the
iPad line fell short of IHS estimates in the fourth quarter as many loyal
Apple customers devoted their dollars to shiny new alternatives."
"However, the primary alternative wasn't the
Kindle Fire which debuted to solid sales in the fourth quarter but Apple's own
iPhone 4S smartphone ."
"The rollout of the iPhone 4S in October generated intense competition for Apple purchasers' disposable income, doing more to limit iPad shipment growth than competition from the
Kindle Fire and other media
tablets ."
But IHS said it expects Apple to hit back with the Q2 launch of the third-generation iPad, which is expected to feature an improved 2048 x 1024 resolution and Siri – Apple’s mobile personal assistant software.
"Apple is set to reclaim its tablet market share when it commences volume shipments of the next version of the iPad, which is expected in the second quarter of this year," IHS continued in its report.
"As with previous iPad releases, Apple is anticipated to stage a staggered rollout, introducing the new product in different countries around the globe as supply improves."