Tablet shipments to hit 52 million units in 2011

The PC market is set to grow by 14 per cent this year, but this will be largely due to the increased sales of tablets such as the iPad, a forecast from analyst firm Canalys suggests.

For every 10 tablets sold this year, five netbook or notebooks will be sold, across the consumer and enterprise markets in developed countries such as the US and UK.

Over 52 million tablets will ship worldwide in 2011, according to Canalys. Apple is tipped to have 75 per cent market share as the iPad 2 builds on the success of the original tablet, the firm said.

Other vendors such as Samsung and Motorola are expected to ship a combined total of 12 million units.

Tablets are expected to make inroads into the enterprise, according to Daryl Chiam, principal analyst at Canalys.

"The number of affluent, highly-mobile executives buying pads will increase quickly in 2011," he said.

"Likewise, vertical market adoption of pads, especially in healthcare and education, will gain momentum, as more appropriate applications are built."

Laptops sales, meanwhile, will continue to rise moderately with an eight per cent increase predicted despite the form factor being overstocked in many parts of the world including western Europe.

However, the end may be nigh for netbooks, with sales predicted to drop by 13 per cent this year.

Firms including AMD, Intel and Microsoft are also tipped to lose market share this year as tablets disrupt PC refresh cycles, added Tim Coulling, an analyst at Canalys.

"Their innovative user experience has captured the imagination of consumers, who are extending the life of their existing hardware, while taking an interest in pads," he said.

The damage done by the earthquake in Japan will also bring short-term disruptions to supply chains, with global PC shipments expected to be hit, the firm added.