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Anyone who believes that still believes the iPad and other tablets are just a fad are in for a bumpy ride. A new forecast from IDC found that tablet shipments are expected to surpass ‘portable PC’ shipments by the end of 2013, and total PC shipments will get surpassed by 2015.
IDC found that tablet shipments are expected to grow 58.7{813a954d5e225a1509f22204ece89c855080ce25555f20805f61bed63cbfde3b} year-over-year in 2013, for a total of 229.3 million units sold. That figure is up from just 144.5 million last year, and if growth continues at the same pace tablet sales will be more popular than PC sales of both desktop and portable computers combined in 2015.
While some experts believed the rise of tablets was a result of tough economic times, IDC’s data shows that consumers have actually made a shift in the technology we use for computing. The iPad is mostly responsible for the surge of growth tablets have experienced, but IDC says the current market expansion has been fueled by low-cost Android tablets.
Over the last year the worldwide average selling price for tablets has dropped 10.8{813a954d5e225a1509f22204ece89c855080ce25555f20805f61bed63cbfde3b} to $381. but the average selling price for PCs is nearly double that at $635. IDC estimates that prices on tablets will continue to drop, which will further cement the PC’s doom.
Along with lower priced tablets, the market is also seeing smaller screen sizes. As of 2013, 55{813a954d5e225a1509f22204ece89c855080ce25555f20805f61bed63cbfde3b} of all tablets utilize a screen size of 8-inches or less. That number was just at 27{813a954d5e225a1509f22204ece89c855080ce25555f20805f61bed63cbfde3b} two years ago, as the worldwide tablet marketshare for tablets with 8-inch screens and greater has dropped from 73{813a954d5e225a1509f22204ece89c855080ce25555f20805f61bed63cbfde3b} in 2011, but is expected to be at 43{813a954d5e225a1509f22204ece89c855080ce25555f20805f61bed63cbfde3b} by 2017.
