Android Tablets Gain Market Share But iPad’s Still Rule [Sales Research]

Google Android tablets are quickly chipping away at Apple’s iPad dominance according to a new study released by Strategy Analytics. According to the research firm Apple is still the clear leader with 56.7 percent of tablet shipments but that number is down from a 64.5 percent share in Q3 2011.

Android took much of its market share from Microsoft and other tech companies who witnessed drop offs in shipments last quarter.

The tablet market was very healthy in Q3 2012 with 25 million units shipped, up 43 percent from Q3 2011. While manufacturers are shipping more tablets then ever before Strategy Analytics notes that the past quarter was the slowed in terms of tablet growth since the release of the original iPad.

According to the report Apple shipped 14 million iPad last quarter, Android tablets in the meantime shipped a still impressive 10.2 million units.

Android gained its market share after Apple tablet shipments increased by 29.2 percent since Q3 2011 while Android tablets increased by 41.3 percent.

Much of Google’s success has relied on the release of the Amazon Kindle Fire line of devices and its very own Google Nexus tablets.

Microsoft saw an increase to 400,000 tablets but its market share fell from 2.3 to 1.6 percent as the market grew at a faster rate than Microsoft sales increases.

Worse for the wear was Research In Motion who’s BlackBerry OS fell from 4.1 percent in Q3 2011 to just 0.4 percent at this time.

With Apple finally releasing the iPad Mini and Google prepared to announce the next Nexus tablet it will be interesting to see what type of market share each company earns by the end of 2012.