Though Huawei still controls a relatively small share of the global tablet market, it was the big Q3 winner in tablet shipment growth, IDC said Thursday in its quarterly “tracker” report. Huawei shipped 1.8 million tablets in the quarter, a 148 percent increase from the same 2014 quarter, enabling the company to nearly triple its global share to 3.7 percent from 1.3 percent in Q3 a year earlier, IDC said. As a result, Huawei finished the quarter in fifth place in global share behind Apple, Samsung, Lenovo and Asus, it said. “Huawei has been successful in finding its niche -- cellular-enabled tablets,” the research firm said. “With over two-thirds of its tablets being mobile connected, the vendor has been able to appeal to the growing trend of tablets used for voice calling and tablets used in markets with low broadband penetration.” Overall, the global tablet market had lower shipments for the fourth straight quarter, with 49.4 million units shipped in Q3, an 11.2 percent decrease from the same 2014 quarter, it said. Despite signs of a “slight seasonal improvement,” the latest double-digit decline highlights “the challenges the tablet market is facing,” it said. "The traditional slate tablet has a place in the personal computing world,” IDC said. “However, as the smartphone installed base continues to grow and the devices get bigger and more capable, the need for smaller form factor slate tablets becomes less clear. With shipment volumes slowing over four consecutive quarters, the market appears to be in transition."

There's “immense” potential for new and replacement sales of tablets to reverse an expected 4 percent global decline in unit shipments this year and drive 7 percent growth in 2016, Strategy Analytics said in a Monday report. As replacement cycles have “lengthened” for both tablets and PCs in recent years, 2-in-1 detachable tablets “have become affordable enough that they will compete for consumer spend of both products,” said Peter King, Strategy Analytics research director-tablet and touch-screen strategies, in a statement. A household “could settle” on a 2-in-1 tablet for casual use, and then “transform” the product into a “dockable mini workstation when needed for more intensive activities,” King said. The prevalence of tablets with screens 11 inches and larger typifies the tablet’s “expanding feature set and usage model” as the product “plays into the prosumer and enterprise segments due to cost and functionality,” King said. Improved processor technologies from chipmakers like Intel have enabled tablets “to be more powerful, thinner, and lighter,” and that's also driving market adoption, he said. As Microsoft prepares to shed light at a Tuesday media event on its launch of the Surface Pro 4 laptop/tablet hybrid, “we see Microsoft leading the growing pack” of professional-grade tablets running Windows, said Eric Smith, Strategy Analytics senior analyst-tablet and touch-screen strategies service. July’s release of Windows 10 opened “opportunities” at the high end to better position tablets against PCs “on productivity needs and compatibility with the office setting,” Smith said. “Opportunity abounds” at the low end as well, where white-box vendors are already selling ultra-low-priced 2-in-1s to compete against low-end PCs and tablets for casual use,” and that is “particularly well-suited in emerging markets for consumers new to the computing segment,” Smith said.

Asus added two Transformer Books to its 2015 lineup. The T100HA and Flip TP200SA combine a tablet and notebook in one chassis. The T100HA is powered by the Intel Atom X5 processor that is said to provide 20 percent more performance than the previous generation while delivering 12 hours of battery life. The Transformer Book Flip TP200SA delivers the traditional notebook experience but converts to a tablet with a 360-degree flip, Asus said. The TP200SA runs on an Intel Celeron N3050 Braswell processor for up to eight hours on a charge. Both devices include 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of solid-state storage. The T100HA ($299) and TP200SA ($349) will be available later this month.

Ericsson extended its Wi-Fi calling to a multidevice platform, the company said in a news release. The functionality of the new service enables operators to make voice calls on Wi-Fi enabled devices, such as tablets and personal computers, Ericsson said Thursday.

Barnes & Noble’s Nook segment -- including devices, accessories and digital content -- had a 22 percent revenue drop in fiscal Q1 to $54 million, said the company. Digital content sales plummeted 28 percent to $37 million on lower unit volume, while device and accessories sales fell 6 percent to $17 million on lower non-bookstore sales, said Chief Financial Officer Allen Lindstrom on an earnings webcast Wednesday. Nook reduced year-over-year expenses by $10 million on continued cost cuts, including lower compensation and consulting expenses, said Lindstrom. Barnes & Noble expects to trim operating income losses further in the Nook segment via “back-office infrastructure opportunities on the technology side." Responding to a question on Nook's break-even outlook, Chief Operating Officer Jaime Carey cited a three-pronged strategy for Nook to reach profitability: increase device sales, boost Nook app downloads and “look at third-party arrangements that will give Nook wider distribution for its content.” Carey called out the recently launched second-gen 8-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 Nook as a potential revenue driver for “how it presents reading.” Overall, Barnes & Noble Q1 sales dipped 1.5 percent to $1.2 billion, while its loss in the quarter widened to $34.9 million, compared with a year-ago loss of $28.4 million. The company completed the spinout of the college segment into a separate company, Barnes & Noble Education. Barnes & Noble stock fell 27.6 percent in Wednesday trading to $11.80.

U.S. Cellular will begin selling the 9.7-inch black Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 online and in stores on Sept. 11 for $0 down with the carrier’s installment pricing. Under the plan, the 24 payments of $27.50 are added to the monthly bill, U.S. Cellular said. The S2 has a Super AMOLED display, octa-core processor and 128 GB storage capability via SD card, said the carrier.

Dolby Laboratories and Lenovo announced five Dolby Atmos-enabled tablets with Dolby Atmos sound. Atmos delivers audio that flows above and around the user in the tablet environment and can be experienced through headphones or built-in speakers, the companies said. The Yoga Tab 3 Pro, with a four-speaker soundbar, will be the first tablet to offer Dolby Atmos, they said. The Lenovo Yoga Tab 3 8 and Lenovo Phab Plus are expected later this month, and the Lenovo Yoga Tab 3 Pro and the Lenovo Yoga Tab 3 10 are due in November, they said. Prices weren’t given.

AT&T will begin selling the LG G Pad X 10.1 tablet Friday online with a DirecTV app pre-installed, it said Monday. Retail store sales begin Sept. 11, it said. Customers have several payment options including a bronze G Pad X for $17.50 over 20 months with an installment plan. AT&T customers can add the G Pad X to an existing Mobile Share Value Plan for $10 per month, or it can be purchased for $249 with a two-year agreement, AT&T said. The Dual Window split screen allows side-by-side viewing of two compatible apps, AT&T said, and users can pair an Android phone to the tablet to answer calls, receive and reply to texts and follow social network activity from a phone across the room.

Samsung sent an email blast to customers Friday offering $100 or more toward the purchase of a new Galaxy Tab S2 through Sept. 26. The company is taking pre-orders at its e-commerce site for 8- ($399) and 9.7-inch ($499) tablets in black, gold or white. The offer includes the trade-in minimum value of $50 plus $50 from Samsung for trading in any eligible device. Clover Wireless managed the trade-in program, which showed "good condition" trade-in values of $105 for an iPad 2 Wi-Fi, $150 for an iPad 3 4G, $25 for a Galaxy Tab 2 10-inch and $20 for a Galaxy Tab 4 10-inch model. Clover said devices traded in are reconditioned for resale or recycled through an R2 and e-Stewards registered end-of-life recycler. In an FAQ section, Clover said its devices can be sold overseas where there’s more demand for previously owned electronics and that it remarkets only “fully functional products to legitimate businesses overseas.” The company also donates products “but not to individuals,” it said. Working products with lower resale value are routed through corporate relationships to shelters, senior citizen homes and schools, it said.

Global shipments of tablets, including “detachables” sold with 2-in-1 devices, are expected to decline 8 percent this year to 212 million, “with the vast majority being pure slate tablets,” IDC said Wednesday in a forecast report. “The overall trajectory of the tablet market has not changed significantly over the past year and a half,” but the 2-in-1 segment “is starting to gain traction,” said the research firm. IDC expects the 2-in-1 segment to grow 86.5 percent year over year in 2015 with 14.7 million units shipped, it said. “Although this volume is far below that of the more affordable slate tablet segment, IDC believes these devices appeal to an audience seeking an alternative to pure tablets with smaller screens,” it said. IDC sees iOS tablet device shipments declining 14.9 percent this year to 54 million units, while Android tablet shipments are expected to decline 10 percent to 139.8 million, it said. Percentage-wise, Windows tablets will be 2015's big winner, rising 59.5 percent to 17.7 million, it said. IDC also sees Windows tablets rising through at a 30.3 percent compound annual growth rate through 2019, compared with a 2.7 percent CAGR decline for Android and a 0.5 percent CAGR decline for iOS, it said. Android will finish 2015 with a 66 percent share of the global tablets market, but its share will fall to 56.6 percent in 2019, IDC said. By 2019, iOS tablets will claim a 25.9 percent market share compared with 25.5 percent in 2015, it said. However, Windows will see its 2019 share more than double to 17.5 percent from 8.4 percent in 2015, IDC said.