Price, competition accelerating tablet adoption

A new report from market research firm In-Stat highlighted several factors that are accelerating the sales and adoption of tablets.

More so than anything else, price degradation and the introduction of more devices is helping the market move forward, according to In-Stat. Because of this, the research firm predicted that shipments of tablets will reach nearly 250 million by 2017.

"The tablet market and its associated ecosystem are still evolving," chief technology strategist Jim McGregor said. "Over the next few generations, we will see more differentiation between devices that are targeting different market segments and usage models. In addition, competitive device and service pricing will bring tablets into the mainstream consumer and enterprise markets."

The report also stated that Apple's iOS, which is run on the iPad, and the Android mobile operating system from Google will continue to hold a combined 90 percent of the market. Windows is a distant third, In-Stat reported.

IHS iSuppli also recently released research that predicted further growth for the tablet market. This year, the firm said 60 million units will be sold, which is a drastic, 245.9 percent increase compared to the 17.4 million that were shipped in 2010.