Tablet market dominated by few devices

The tablet market has proven to be a difficult one to break into, as relatively few models have any significant impact on the industry and even fewer manage to stay among the elite.

Highlighting this notion, a report from IFR Monitoring, a subsidiary of research firm GfK Group, asserts that, as of October 2011, just 10 models account for nearly 80 percent of tablet computers sold online, up from 71 percent in June.

This growth, though small, is potentially significant. Even though the tablet market is constantly expanding -- with new models arriving seemingly every other week -- the number of devices that people are buying is actually contracting. Early leaders are emerging and establishing their places in the market, while others are finding it difficult just to break out.

The cutthroat nature of the competitive tablet market has led to several trends in the industry recently. For example, many manufacturers have decided to abandon plans for tablets, choosing instead to focus on traditional PCs as well as new technology, like the Ultrabook™ computer.