iPad to dominate tablet market until 2012

The iPad will remain the dominant force in the tablet market until at least 2012, as rivals fail to come up with a worthy adversary.

This was the conclusion of new research from iSuppli, which claimed, despite 2011 being sure to throw up some competitors to Apple's tablet device, it will take at least until 2012 for them to make a similar impact.

The figures from iSuppli said the iPad is set to account for 74.1 per cent of global tablet shipments this year and it predicted 2011 will see this drop only slightly to 70.4 per cent.

Even in 2012, the research firm said Apple will retain 61.7 per cent of the market, whilst challengers continued to struggle to steal the share away.

"Although the iPad has been on the market for only a few months, powerful interests throughout the technology business are devoting enormous resources to challenge and topple Apple's domination in this fast-growing marketplace," said Rhoda Alexander, director of monitor research at iSuppli.

"However, if recent history is any lesson, it will take some time for these companies to get their products to market, longer for them to offer necessary software support and infrastructure, and an even lengthier period to begin to rival the overall user experience Apple is able to deliver."

iSuppli has based its forecasts on the history of the iPhone. It claimed, despite a host of rival devices coming out following the iPhone's release in 2007, it took until 2010 for a real challenger to emerge with the likes of the Motorola Milestone and HTC Evo 4G.

Alexander has placed her bet on which she thinks will be the strongest competitor, and this expectation has fallen on HP with its upcoming webOS-based device. But, this is not expected to launch until 2011 so Apple still has a while to keep hold of the tablet crown.