Tablets wars already underway

Since April 2010, the tablet market has been all but dominated by one company -- Apple®. But the tides are turning as more manufacturers prove they can compete, sparking an all-out war for supremacy in the market.

Apple, while still holding a commanding edge in the tablet market, has watched its share slip in recent months with the success of new devices from competing manufacturers. Tablet computers based on Android™ have been especially successful and, as a result, Google has seen its market share climb.

According to research firm IDC, Android will account for more than 40 percent of the tablet market in the fourth quarter of 2011, a sizable leap from the 32.4 percent in the third quarter.

Microsoft's Windows® 8 is also ready to make some noise in the tablet market. Slated to be released in mid-2012, the operating system will run on both tablet computers and traditional PCs, which could be key to getting Microsoft® into the increasingly competitive market.

The tablet wars have already seen a few casualties, but they are by no means finished. As new winners emerge and losers fall by the wayside, the tablet market down the road may look drastically different than it does today.