Apple iPad to increase tablet market share to 95 per cent in 2011

Tablet sales will continue to increase next year at the expense of notebooks and netbooks, according to a new report from DRAMeXchange, the research department of market intelligence firm Trendforce.

The Apple iPad is likely to increase in popularity in 2011, and will account for 80 to 95 per cent of a tablet market expected to reach 51.3 million units, said the latest DRAMeXchange Market View.

However, while Apple's iOS has proved hugely popular, it faces a strong challenge from Google's Android which represents a "threat to the iPad".

The real casualties are likely to be notebooks and netbooks, according to DRAMeXchange, as tablets increasingly cannibalise these markets.

Shipments of tablet PCs will increase by 237 per cent over the next year, compared to just 15.4 per cent for notebooks.

Netbooks will also be affected by the huge surge in demand for tablets, the report found.

However, there will still be demand for the devices for tasks such as office computing. DRAMeXchange expects 2011 netbook shipments to stand at 32.6 million units with a two per cent year-on-year decline.