Tablets to outshine PCs, Yankee Group says

Tablet computer sales are growing at an incredible rate and, according to a report from Yankee Group, could eclipse those of traditional PCs in the near future.

The research firm estimates that tablet shipments will reach 134 million units in 2015, up from 24 million in 2011. The majority of these are likely to be iPad® tablets from Apple®, though Yankee Group notes that many consumers have not yet decided which brand they are likely to purchase.

Yankee Group asserts that there is significant opportunity for Apple's competitors to emerge in the coming years and capture a larger chunk of the tablet market. The launch of Windows® 8 in late 2012 could prove to be a game-changer, as many predict the tablets based on Microsoft's software will be a hit, especially among business users and schools.

Still, there is some catching up to do. According to Yankee Group, Apple currently commands 51 percent of the market, meaning all other manufacturers will have to compete for less than half of the remaining market.

Yankee Group certainly isn't the first to predict that tablet would outshine traditional PCs in the coming years. In an April 2012 blog post, Forrester Research's Frank Gillett notes that tablets are the "most convenient" computing gadget and will one day become the computer of choice for most users.