Tablet shipments will top 125 million this year, analyst says

Led by the Apple® iPad® and with devices run on the Google Android™ and Microsoft® Windows® 8 operating systems next in line, the tablet market is in for another strong showing in 2012, Jeffries & Co. analyst Peter Misek says in a note to investors.

He predicts that more than 125 million tablet computers will ship this year. This is actually 40 million fewer than Jeffries & Co.'s original estimate, which was lowered due to quicker-than-usual market consolidation.

Misek forecasts the iPad to continue its lead in the market, but Android-powered tablets will also make a run at the top spot. The release of the forthcoming Windows 8 OS figures to give the tablet market another boost this year and in the near future, he says.

Misek reports that the first Windows 8 devices "are likely to launch in late 2012, but the units will likely not significantly ramp until 2013."

In January 2012, Strategy Analytics released a report that demonstrates Android's rise within the tablet market. During the fourth quarter of 2011, Google's OS accounted for 39 percent of the overall market, with the iPad leading at 58 percent.