Investopedia: Where Have All The Tablet Sales Gone?

When Apple (Nasdaq:AAPL) launched the iPhone in 2007, it ushered in a wave of smartphone development, and customers responded by buying millions of the things from Apple, Motorola Mobility (NYSE:MMI), Research In Motion (Nasdaq:RIMM), Samsung, HTC and other vendors. When Apple introduced the iPad in 2010 there was a similar expectation that tablet computers would quickly sweep up similar retail sales.

Curiously, there has been a rather sizable pothole on the way to tablet prosperity. While Apple has indeed seen good demand for the iPad platform, rivals running on Google's (Nasdaq:GOOG) Android platform have not fared nearly so well. The question is, then, whether the tablet market can still live up to initial expectations or whether it will prove to be a step too far for the mass retail segment. (For related reading, see The 4 R's Of Investing In Retail.)

Few Successes, Ample Disappointments
Apart from Apple and Samsung, few tablet manufacturers have seen demand meet their expectations. RIM shipped just 500,000 units in the first quarter, decided to delay a 4G version until the fall, and supposedly cut internal sales expectations for the PlayBook in the second quarter to one-third of the initial level (800,000 to 900,000 units versus 2.4 million).

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