Android tablets are now more popular than iPads

Is Apple's iPad dominance coming to an end?
Although Android might currently account for
70.1% of phone sales across Europe, it has
always seemed to struggle against the device
that effectively created the tablet market we see
today, the Apple iPad .
Tablet sales have rocketed since its 2010 launch,
with ABI Research reporting that the tablet
market is now worth $12.7 billion. Taking a large
slice of that pie is certainly not something to be
scoffed at.
The research firm went on to reveal that during
the second quarter of this year "the number of
Android-powered tablets surpassed iOS-based
slates for the first time."
Apple continues to fight strongly, with its market
share based on very small product range, the
iPad and iPad Mini. However the influx of
cheaper Android based tablets such as the
Google Nexus 7 and the Amazon Kindle Fire pose
a real threat.
Big no longer Beautiful?
ABI Research Senior Practice Director Jeff Orr
commented that "smaller 7-inch class tablets are
finally the majority of shipments".
Apple's launch of the i Pad Mini was somewhat
delayed in response to competitors, with the
Kindle Fire leading the way with its launch in
November 2011. Google launched its own 7-inch
tablet, the original Nexus 7, in July 2012.
With the recent launch of the budget Tesco Hudl ,
Amazon Kindle Fire HDX and the slightly higher
specced, higher priced new Google Nexus 7,
Apple's wait to release the iPad Mini 2 could
push customers further in Google's direction.