Portable Electronics Ltd // Technology you can carry.

Google’s Android OS is forecast to increase its worldwide share of the media tablet market from 20 percent in 2011 to 39 percent in 2015 (see Table 1). Analysts said Google’s decision not to open up the Honeycomb, its first OS version dedicated to tablets, to third parties will prevent fragmentation, but it will also slow the price decline and ultimately cap market share.

Table 1
Worldwide Sales of Media Tablets to End Users by OS (Thousands of Units)

10.1 million media tablets were shipped in the fourth quarter of 2010 (4Q10) - more than double the 4.5 million shipped in the third quarter. Apple's share came down from 93% in 3Q10 to 73% in 4Q10, but still reflected Apple's strong leadership position. Samsung's Galaxy Tab was the primary competitor in the holiday season, beating other players to market and capturing more than 17% share, while a number of smaller regional players also participated.

Samsung’s Galaxy Player (YP-GB1) that went on sale in South Korea last month has surpassed sales of 20,000 units. This figure relates to the distribution channel but is impressive nonetheless considering all it took is 10 days to reach the milestone, making it the only Samsung player to record such number in a short time.