Apple’s iPad remains dominant as Windows tablets outsell the PlayBook

A new report from research firm Strategy Analytics indicates that from over 15 million tablet shipments in the second quarter of 2011, Apple still dominates the market with a 61% share but has seen Android tablets eat into its market share over the past year.

According to Strategy Analytics’ latest figures, Apple’s market share slipped from 94% a year previous, with Android tablets now accounting for 30.1% of tablet shipments in the second quarter. Products from Motorola, Samsung and Asus – running Google’s Android Honeycomb operating system – contributed to a total of 4.6 million Android tablet shipments between April and June.

Apple sold a record 9.3 million iPads as the company reported staggering revenues of $28.57 billion in its third quarter.

Neil Mawston, Director at Strategy Analytics, added:

“Android captured 30 percent share of global tablet shipments in Q2 2011. Multiple Android models distributed across multiple countries by multiple brands such as Samsung, Acer, Asus, Motorola and others are driving volumes. However, no Android vendor yet offers a blockbuster model to rival the iPad, and demand for many Android vendors’ products remains patchy. If Amazon decides to enter the Android tablet category later this year, that will bring fresh excitement and buzz to the Android community, but Amazon will need to deliver a truly standout offering if it really wants to make headway against the popular iPad.”

The report also provided an insight into RIM’s BlackBerry PlayBook shipments, which came in lower than tablets powered by Microsoft’s Windows 7 operating system. Despite the fact Microsoft still doesn’t have a tablet-specific OS for tablets, the platform still accounted for 4.6% of the market in the second quarter, topping the PlayBook’s 3.3% share.