Report that iPad is losing share to Android tablets corrected

A circulating report falsely suggests the iPad is still the #1 tablet on the market, but is losing market share to Android. According to market research firm Strategy Analytics, the iPad held on to a 75.3 percent market share in Q4 2010, while Android captured a respectable 21.6 percent share. This distribution differs greatly from the previous quarter, when the iPad dominated with 95.5 percent market share, and Android took a small 2.3 percent. Much of this boost comes from sales of the Samsung Galaxy Tab, which reportedly jumped to 2 million units by the end of the year.

Good news for Apple, though, as the data used in this Strategy Analytics report is incorrect. After stating it had sold 2 million Galaxy Tab devices early last week, the Korean manufacturer confirmed on Friday that this figure was the number of devices sold to carriers and other retailers. It was not the final number that landed in the hands of consumers. Samsung executive Lee Young-here corrected this misunderstanding and stated that the number of tablet devices sold to consumers is actually "quite small." Until Samsung can produce numbers based upon consumer sales, the iPad will continue its reign as the dominant tablet on the market.