Android Tablet Gaining Market Share From Apple

A piece of good news for android tablet fans. In a recent study done by Frank N. Magid Associates, android tablets are fast closing the gap in terms of market share with Apples iPad. Frank N. Magid Associates found that the iPad share went down to 50% from a record high of 72% during the previous survey.

The main reason for the huge market share is the introduction of cheaper android tablets such as the Amazon Kindle Fire and the Google Nexus 7. If you take into consideration for example, the Google Nexus 7 which cost $199 verus the new iPad which starts at $400, its easy to see why.

Microsoft Surface is also expect to take some market share away from Apple when it launches so Apple is facing tremendous pressure to respond. An article here on iPad3-release suggest Apple might release the iPad Mini in September to regain its lead by offering the cheapest iPad ever offered. However, at this point, whether iPad Mini exist is purely rumor and the pricing is not known.

With that said, the survey conducted was only with around 4500 smartphone users so may not be a true indication of things. One of the main reasons consumers buy iPad in spite of its higher price tag has been brand loyalty and the size of its App store (around 500,000 apps). Simply put, it has apps available for just about everyone.

If Android ever wanted to be the dominant market leader in the tablet market, it is vital Google started to place more emphasis on getting better quality developers on Google Play.