A recent Digitimes report indicated that Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) is determined in reducing the market share of the iPad of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) to under fifty percent even as the company aims to release 32 Windows 8 tablets within the year. According to the report, anonymous sources have revealed that the Windows 8 tablets will be used to bring down the share of the global tablet market of the iPad to less than fifty percent near the middle of next year.
Microsoft is currently collaborating with a number of third-party manufacturers to produce the Windows 8 tablets. The third-party manufacturers that will reportedly produce the Windows 8 tablets include Acer (TPE:2353), Dell (NASDAQ:DELL) and HP (NYSE:HPQ). The company aims to introduce around 32 different Windows 8 tablets before the end of the year.
The last few years saw the iPad of Apple dominating the tablet market despite the release of a number of Android-powered devices such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab and the Amazon Kindle Fire. Sixty two percent of the market is owned by Apple according to the February TrendForce report while iSuppli indicated that around sixty one percent of the tablet market will be taken by the Apple tablet offering.
Despite the goal of Microsoft in bringing down the market share of Apple with its Windows 8 tablets, Chris Whitmore of Deutsche Bank indicated that it may not happen. Whitmore added that Microsoft and Google will find it difficult to match the share of the iPad in the tablet market.
The possible release of the mini iPad may also cause more difficulties in the aim of Microsoft in bringing down the share of Apple in the market with its Windows 8 tablets. Reports have revealed that the price tag of the supposed smaller version of the iPad will be between $249 and $299.
With the reported release of six million units of the mini iPad, Apple may continue to increase its share of the market although it also does not mean that Apple is unbeatable since the market share of Apple was at around 87 percent in 2010. This indicates that it is still possible for the Windows 8 tablets to reduce the share of the market for the iPad of Apple.
