Tablet and mobile use continue to soar

The booming sales of tablets and smartphones recorded in the latest Gartner research study have again underlined how important it is for internet gambling software and technology providers to focus on this trend and develop strategies to turn it to best business advantage.

Initiatives should be presaged by a study of how players are using these popular mobile devices in order to develop the right games, interactivity and products.

Apple is expected to remain the top manufacturer for the remainder of 2011, according to a recent study conducted by Gartner.

Worldwide tablet sales will have reached 63.6 million units – a growth of 261.4 percent from 2010 – by the end of this year, with Apple expected to command 73.4 percent of the market in 2011,  but products using the Android platform are gaining ground fast and should not be discounted.

By 2015, Gartner predicts the tablet industry will reach 326.3 million units.

“We expect Apple to maintain a market share lead throughout our forecast period by commanding more than 50 percent of the market until 2014,” said Gartner research vice president Carolina Milanesi.

Tablets and smartphones continue to be consumer favourites and sales of both devices continue to soar. The Consumer Electronics Association says that tablet sales are expected to grow by 157 percent this year, reaching $14 billion in shipping revenue, whilst smartphone sales are projected to increase by 45 percent and surpass $23 billion in industry revenue.

Gartner revealed that a total of 440.5 million mobile devices were sold worldwide during Q3-2011. According to the research firm, the total number of mobile devices increased by 5.6 percent from the third quarter of 2010.

Overall, smartphone sales grew by 42 percent compared to last year and reached 115 million units. Of all the mobile devices sold in the period, 26 percent were smartphones, Gartner reports.

Tablet sales grew by over 200 percent in 2011 according to a new report from the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), which predicted the trend would continue in 2012, albeit at a slightly lower but still market leading rate of 59 percent.