The tech research firm also believes tablet shipments should jump 60 percent this year and top the number of laptop shipments.
Apple's iPad Mini.
(Credit: CNET)
The tablet market should top the entire PC market by 2015 and all laptop shipments this year, a new report said Tuesday. International Data Corp. estimated that tablet shipments will grow 59 percent this year to 229.3 million units. That's higher than the tech research firm's estimate for notebook shipments in 2013 and should help the segment surpass the total number of notebook and desktop PC shipments by 2015.
"Tablets surpassing portables in 2013, and total PCs in 2015, marks a significant change in consumer attitudes about compute devices and the applications and ecosystems that power them," Ryan Reith, program manager for IDC's mobility trackers, said in a press release.
The traditional computing market has fallen under tough times in reach periods, hurt both by cautious spending and the growing popularity of mobile devices. Many consumers are opting for smartphones and tablets instead of buying new PCs, and that caused the PC market to fall sharply -- down in the double digits on a percentage basis -- in the first quarter. The market is expected to slump for all of 2013.
Meanwhile, IDC on Tuesday said the average selling price for tablets is dropping. Apple's iPad started the tablet craze, but lower-priced devices are gaining traction. This year, the global average selling price for tablets should drop 11 percent to $381, about half the average PC price of $635.
At the same time, tablets with smaller screens are gaining traction in the market. Within two quarters, the sub-8-inch tablet category overtook the larger-sized segment in terms of total shipments, IDC said. In 2013, 55 percent of tablet shipments should be in the smaller screen segment. In 2011, only 27 percent of tablets were below 8-inches. By 2017, the percentage should rise to 57 percent, the firm said.
