Worldwide tablet shipments of 76.9 million units grew 28...

units, according to preliminary findings, up from 144.2 million in 2012, IDC said. Early adopter markets such as the U.S. are “reaching high levels of consumer satisfaction,” while “strong growth” in emerging markets hasn’t been enough to sustain the growth rates of years past, said Tom Mainelli, IDC research director-tablets. Commercial tablet purchases are expected to accelerate in mature markets, but softness in the consumer segment due to high penetration and increased competition for consumer dollars points to “a more challenging environment for tablets in 2014 and beyond,” Mainelli said. Apple continued to lead the market with 26 million units shipped in Q4, up from 22.9 million the year-ago quarter, IDC said, but its 13.5 percent year-over-year growth was “well below” the industry average, IDC said. The numbers highlight the challenges Apple faces as it attempts to grow its tablet business in markets outside of its “traditional mature-market strongholds” and as it comes up against more competition from a range of competitors, Mainelli said. Apple’s worldwide tablet share grew sequentially in Q4 to 33.8 percent from 29.7 in Q3, but it was down from the 38.2 percent share in Q4 2012. No. 2 Samsung retained its position on the strength of its portfolio and increased carrier support to reach 18.8 percent market share worldwide, a slip of 0.1 percent from Q3 but up from 13 percent in Q4 2012, IDC said. Positions 3, 4 and 5 went to Amazon with 7.6 percent market share, Asus (5.1 percent) and Lenovo (4.4 percent). IDC predicts additional tablet share gains for Lenovo this year due to its strength in emerging markets and its growing share in adjacent categories including PCs and smartphones.