ABI Research: Global tablet shipments are expected to reach 145 million units in 2013

Global tablet shipments to grow 29.5% to 145 million units

On January 24, 2012 , according to foreign media reports, market research firm ABI Research predicts that global tablet shipments will reach 145 million units in 2013, an increase of 29.5% from 112 million units in 2012.

ABI Research said on Wednesday that factors driving the surge in tablet shipments include new vendors entering the market, the launch of cheaper tablets and increased use of tablets by corporate users.

"The pace of innovation is slowing, and tablet vendors are increasing their product offerings to meet market demand," said ABI analyst Jeff Orr in the report. "Apple released the iPad mini at the end of 2012, and there are a large number of tablets based on Intel architecture and the latest Windows operating system. These products will show their growth this year."

ABI said most tablet demand will come from North America, which it expects will account for about half of global shipments.

ABI said that more and more PC manufacturers are launching tablet products for enterprise users, and the number of tablets purchased by enterprise users will account for 19% of global shipments. Although this will have a certain negative impact on PC shipments, most of the tablets purchased by enterprise users will be used by employees who have never used a tablet before.

Recently, some media claimed that tablet computers are the only reason for the decline in demand for e-book readers. However, ABI disagrees with this and believes that tablet computers have no impact on the demand for e-book readers.

"The U.S. is still the largest market for e-readers, in fact. There are fewer and fewer baby boomers who want to replicate the print reading experience," Orr said. "If the rest of the world can't successfully organize digital publishing, the e-reader market will die, regardless of whether tablets and other mobile devices become popular."