The International Data Corporation (IDC), a research firm, said during the second quarter that the tablet market seemed to have come to a halt, with growth slowing down. Still, Forrester Research predicted that the tablets' worldwide installed base would continue to skyrocket. The research firm also said that by 2017, the global users of tablets would reach more than 900 million, up from 2010's 15 million users.
Much of the deceleration was due to the changing product cycle of Apple. Apple's iPad currently remains as the top-selling tablet merchandise even with the recent decrease in the company's market share. The IDC said iPad's market share in the second quarter dropped to 32% from last year's 60%. Apple was able to sell 45 million units during the second quarter.
Analysts said that once the market reached the predicted installed base, the concentration must turn to the tablets' upgrade cycles. The personal computer market is presently struggling due to the long time it takes to process an upgrade. Analysts noted that the dilemma of the PC market would also happen to the tablet market if tablet makers fail to frequently release new products.
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