<http://schema.org/articleBody>
" Global tablet sales are on course to exceed those of laptop and desktop PCs for the first time, according to a report. Figures from market analyst IDC suggest that sales of slate computers will surge by almost 50% to more than 190 million units in 2013.   Meanwhile, sales of desktop PCs are in gradual decline worldwide, while the laptop market is stable, with some growth in developing markets and marginal decline in established countries. IDC&amp;#039;s research indicates that sales of all connected devices grew by 29.1% in 2012, a boom that was largely attributed to sales of Apple&amp;#039;s iPad and rival Android slates. The tablet market is expected to reach 350 million global sales by 2017, closing the gap on the smartphone sector, which is tipped to rise by 27% this year with 900 million devices sold.  &amp;quot;Consumers and business buyers are now starting to see smartphones, tablets and PCs as a single continuum of connected devices separated primarily by screen size,&amp;quot; IDC&amp;#039;s Bob O&amp;#039;Donnell said. &amp;quot;Each of these devices is primarily used for data applications and different individuals choose different sets of screen sizes in order to fit their unique needs.  &amp;quot;These kinds of developments are creating exciting new opportunities that will continue to drive the smart connected devices market forward in a positive way.&amp;quot; The report names Apple as the world&amp;#039;s top tablet seller, with the iPad line holding 43.1% of the market, down from 51.7% the previous year.  Samsung came in second thanks to the success of its Galaxy line, which doubled its market share during the course of the year to come away with a 15.1% slice of the sector. Overall, Samsung sold more connected devices than any other company during the period in question and came away with a 21.2% share of the market as a whole, but Apple has now closed the gap to just less than 1%. The Cupertino firm also led the way on revenue, securing a 30.7% share compared to Samsung&amp;#039;s 20.4%. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/tech/tablets/news/a469268/tablet-devices-to-outsell-pcs-in-2013-report/>