Report: 1.2M Non-iPad Tablets Sold So Far In 2011

While sales of non-iPad tablet computers in the U.S. have been steadily increasing throughout 2011, the market is still dwarfed by Apple's market-creating device. NPD's new Connected Handhelds Report estimates that non-Apple hardware makers sold 1.2 million tablets from January to October this year, representing $415 million in sales. Those sales have been heavily loaded towards the end of the period, with third quarter sales six times larger than those in the first quarter. Apple doesn't separate out hardware sales by region, but it has announced the iPad sold over 25 million units worldwide in the first three quarters of 2011, suggesting a dominant position in the American tablet market. Yet NPD's survey suggests there is a segment of the market that can be won over to other tablet options, with 76 percent of other tablet purchasers saying they didn't even consider an iPad. Hewlett Packard led the U.S. market for non-iPad tablet hardware during the period, representing 17 percent of non-iPad tablet sales, largely thanks to clearance sales for its Touchpad after the line was discontinued this summer. Other leading tablet brands included Samsung with 16 percent of the non-iPad market, Asus with 10 percent, and Motorola and Acer with 9 percent of the market.