The market will be dominated by Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) while placing Microsoft a distant third in the market even as it waits for the release of the Windows 8 OS. According to Gartner 73 million tablets are projected to be sold by Apple for the year while 38 million Android-powered tablets are expected to be sold. However only 4.8 million tablets using the Windows OS will be sold for the year.
The latest data was released by Gartner recently as it revealed that tablet sales will likely reach 119 million for 2012.
The fact that Windows 8 is not specifically designed or even fully optimized for tablet devices may be one of the reasons for weak sales for tablets using the operating system from Microsoft. The Windows 8 OS is expected to be released into the market by fall, Gartner revealed.
The market share of Microsoft is expected to reach around 11.8 percent by 2016 even as businesses will play a significant role in the tablet market by that time. Some industry watchers think that Microsoft will make the Windows 8 OS more appealing to consumers rather than concentrating on business users.
Although tablets using Windows 8 will be able to use current Windows Desktop apps, its Metro-style user interface along with the latest Windows app store may be more appealing to consumers rather than business users. Some business users have reportedly tried their hand on the Developer as well as Consumer previews of the Microsoft 8 operating system.
The Metro-style UI and the Windows app store are the more noticeable components of the Windows 8 OS.
