Android Tablets chewing iPad marketshare

iPad created the tablet PC craze and dominate the market, however it looks like Android are rising to challenge iPad dominance.

Apple still has a firm grip on the top spot in the tablet market at 43.6%, but that number is down--way down--from a year ago, when it held more than half of all tablet market share at 51.7%. At the same time, Samsung saw its tablet market share explode from 7.3% to 15.1%, representing a 236% increase in year-over-year shipments in Q4. For as incredible as Samsung’s growth is, however, ASUS’ is staggering; the company saw 402.3% growth, from about 600,000 units to 3.1 million, thanks largely to sales of the Google Nexus tablet, and it now holds 5.8% market share. 

Source: Hot Hardware

The data reported by Hot Hardware is based on IDC Q4 2012 data. What is interesting is that Asus, the maker of Google Nexus 7 saw 400% growth. While Samsung with its extensive range of tablets saw 236% growth. Apple still king at 43.6%, however it is no longer in control of over 51% of the market.

Looking at Asus growth, it looks like cheap good tablet PC are helping them to grow at an incredible rate. Looking at their MeMO Pad series, it looks like they are going to continue creating cheap and good tablet PC.

Two Top Cheap Good Tablet PC 2012

The two top tablets of 2012 are Apple iPad Mini and Google Nexus 7. The Google Nexus 7 is, of course, my personal choice, due to its more affordable price. But we must also remember that Apple still leads the tablet market. By introducing the iPad Mini, Apple is now a competitor in the cheap good tablet PC, even though its price tag is still somewhat expensive.

Check out the head-to-head comparison of iPad Mini and Nexus 7 over at PC Tablet.

US Cheap Tablet Options For 2012

The 2012 Holiday Season is surely the hottest holiday season for tablets. While the iPad is still dominating the tablet market, we are now seeing cheap tablet with good quality, thanks to Android tablet.

My Desert recommends two options, other than the iPad. The Google Nexus and Amazon tablets. Why ?

Android tablets — which run Google’s Android operating system — are becoming a big threat to the iPad. Though Google has made Android available to all tablet makers, your best bets for now are Google’s own flagship tablets, the Nexus 7 ($199) and Nexus 10 ($399). 

These gadgets run the latest version of the Android operating system, 4.2 or Jelly Bean, and are the first to receive updates. They can go neck-and-neck with the power, features and usability you’ll find on similarly sized iPads, too, but at a lower cost. In some ways, the Nexus tablets are actually better. 

Source: My Desert

And for Amazon ?

Amazon’s Android-based Kindle Fire tablet got a major upgrade recently, along with a few siblings, making it a more competitive option.

Source: My Desert

What do you think ?

Cheap Pandigital Android Tablet for Christmas 2012

Here is a very interesting recommendation for those on a budget and looking to buy their significant entrepreneur a tablet for Christmas 2012. It is cheap, at $49.99. It was once sold for $300. However it is outdated. With Android 2.0. The standard Android in cheap tablet is now Android 2.3 Gingerbread and higher. Price it seems is still the main factor when people are buying cheap tablet.

For more details, check out the website covering the recommendation at Business Opportunities weblog.

Personally, I would recommend that you take a look into Google Nexus 7, it is priced a lot higher, but the specs are much more updated and inline with today technologies.

Ainol Novo Captain tablet pc

Ainol Novo, a Chinese tablet manufacturer is very aggressive in producing cheap Android tablet. It has just released Ainol Novo Captain. A 10-inch tablet with display resolution of 1920 x 1200. One of the best display, with only Apple and Google having tablet PC with such high resolution.

The Novo Captain will also come with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and quad core CPU @ 1.5GHz. The price ? Very cheap, $212.9 for the 8GB storage and $259.99 for 16GB. The release date is set for mid December. It will be available worldwide, not only in China.

The main attraction point of this new tab is certainly the 10.1-inch IPS display that boasts a 1920 x 1200 pixels resolution, but the quad-core ATM7029 CPU clocked at 1.5 GHz, the Mali 400 GPU and the running of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean should also contribute to the Captain’s wow factor. 

The rest of the features are more down to earth and include 1 GB of RAM, a 2 MP rear-facing camera, a VGA front-facing webcam, microSD support, a mini USB port, HDMI, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS. The 10,000 mAh battery might be another great thing about the 10-incher, though until testing the tab out we can’t know for sure how will that huge capacity translate into real-life autonomy. 

As for internal storage, the tab will be available in two versions, with 8 or 16 GB of memory, which is a bit odd, considering its high-end “material”. Then again, it’s obvious that this is a 10-incher meant for tech users on a budget, who’ll be glad to know that they can grab a Novo 10 Captain for as less as $212.90. 

Source: Android Authority

This is definitely one of the cheap tablet worthy of your consideration for the upcoming holiday season shopping.

Staples Black Friday 2012 Deals on Cheap Good Tablet PC

Staples Black Friday deal for 2012 on tablet PC includes:

1. Amazon Kindle Fire 32GB $249
2. Amazon Kindle Fire 16GB $199
3. Kindle Fire $159
4. Google Nexus 7 16GB $199

Source: BlackFriday via ZDNET