IPad pushes Apple into top five PC vendor list

Devices like the iPad will outsell netbooks by 2012

Apple's iPad sales have lifted the company into the top five PC manufacturers, according to the latest figures from Canalys.

The analyst firm's quarterly survey of the PC industry found that the iPad helped Apple to achieve six per cent of the portable PC segment in the second quarter of the year.

Apple has shifted more than three million iPads since launch, in a netbook market that has slowed over the past six months.

"Apart from the 'Apple effect', the iPad owes its success to a lack of advancement in other portable computing segments, such as netbooks," said Canalys principal analyst Chris Jones.

"To capture share, PC makers will have to take the netbook to the next level or go after new customer segments with their own pads."

Sales of tablet computers like the iPad will have overtaken those of netbooks by 2012 as other manufacturers pile into the market, the report suggests.

Sales in the tablet market are expected to reach 12.5 million units in 2010, and 66 million by the end of 2014.

"As the number of consumers with multiple devices increases, it will also be important for pads to seamlessly integrate with existing equipment," said Canalys senior analyst Natalie Spitz.

"In addition to synchronisation capabilities, vendors should be prepared to take a strategic look at content, which is all-important but often overlooked."