Android catching up with Apple in tablet war, while BlackBerry struggles
Research into the tablet market shows Google's Android operating system is increasing in popularity, eating into Apple's lead. RIM's PlayBook, meanwhile, is failing to make an impact.
Apple may be head honcho when it comes to tablets, but Google's Android operating system is cutting into its lead, according to figures from number-crunching analysts.
Strategy Analytics told Reuters that Apple's hernia-inducingly popular iPad tablet accounts for 61.3 per cent of the market, while Android tablets hold 30 pe rcent.
Doesn't sound like much, but apparently a year ago Apple controlled 94.3 per cent of the market, while Android had just 2.9 per cent. That's quite a big bite that the adorable green robot has taken out of Apple in just one year.
On the one hand, we're not surprised Android is becoming more popular -- after all, it's only in the last year that tablets packing Google's mobile OS have actually started hitting the shelves.
But on the other, it's an impressive level of growth, especially given some of the biggest Android tablets like the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and Sony S1 and S2 haven't even been released yet.
The news isn't so rosy across the board though -- beleaguered BlackBerry-maker RIM reportedly nets just 3.3 per cent of the tablet market with its PlayBook, less than Windows tablets, which have 4.6 per cent. And Windows tablets are -- not to put too fine a point on it -- rubbish.
We've heard the PlayBook isn't making any money for RIM, thanks to a cunning plan to discount the first 500,000 units to retailers, which backfired when nobody bought any.
Are you backing Android? Or would you rather see Apple stay on top for another year? Let us know in the comments, or on our Facebook wall.