How the various tablets powered by Window are faring in the increasingly competitive market is something that a lot of people are interested in. The battle for mobile computing supremacy in is entering perhaps its most important phase, after all.
Late as it were, Microsoft fired off its shots with Windows 8 and the Surface lineup of devices.
Before that the share of Windows tablets was nominal — but now it is rising exponentially. It is still in the low single digits, sure, and both Apple and Android continue to rule the roost. But things finally are looking up for Windows powered slates.
IDC just released its newest research, and it shows that Apple shipped no less than 14.6 million tablets in the second quarter of the year. Android based slates kept the number one slot with 28.2 million units.
For Windows, the total number of units shipped came in at 1.8 million for Q2 2013, with a mere 200,000 of them being Windows RT based devices.
As Ryan Reith, the Program Manager for IDC’s Mobility Tracker program said:
“The tablet market is still evolving and vendors can rise and fall quickly as a result.
Apple aside, the remaining vendors are still very much figuring out which platform strategy will be successful over the long run. To date, Android has been far more successful than the Windows 8 platform. However, Microsoft-fueled products are starting to make notable progress into the market.”
In terms of market share percentage, Android now holds a market share of 62.6 percent for the second quarter of the year, Apple 32.5 percent, and Windows had to make do with a clean 4 percent.
Windows RT, on the other hand, barely reached figures of 0.5 percent, but Microsoft would be hoping for a change in fortune with Windows RT 8.1 almost ready for action.
Word is that the technology titan is preparing a smaller Surface Mini tablet that is set to be powered by the newest version of Windows RT. Reported display size is expected to be somewhere between 7 and 8 inches, and expected pricing is said to start at $249.
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“expected pricing is said to start at $249” wasn’t this the expected pricing of the Surface RT before release?
The smaller size and price should give Microsoft a nice boost. Honestly the RT devices are very underrated. I’ve used one, and I’ve watched comparison videos on the internet. I really don’t see what’s supposed to make the iPad better. I have an iPad. I don’t remember the last time I used it for anything other than GPS, social-networking, e-mail, or a quick web search. The better camera and longer video really doesn’t matter much to me.