<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"During Apple's fourth-quarter earnings call this week, CEO Tim Cook predicted that it would be an \"iPad Christmas.\" Based on a new report, it looks like Christmas can't come soon enough for Apple.\nThe company's share of the global tablet market fell to 29.6% in the third quarter, down from 33.1% in the previous quarter and just more than 40% in the same quarter a year earlier, according to a new report from IDC. The drop is attributed to the fact that Apple did not release a new iPad either the second or third quarter, leaving an opportunity for other manufacturers and tablets running on the Android platform.\nSee also: The iPad Mini's First Year: Too Much of a Good Thing\nThe total number of tablet shipments worldwide increased to 47.6 million in the third quarter, up from about 45 million the previous quarter. Meanwhile, the number of iPad shipments decreased from 14.6 million in the second quarter to 14.1 million in the September quarter.\n\n\n\n\n\niCharts\n\n\n\n\n\nThe big question now is how much ground can Apple make up with the release of the new iPad Air and Retina iPad mini next month. Jitesh Ubrani, a research analyst, suggested in the report that Apple's decision to raise the price of the iPad mini may lessen its market share gains somewhat: \"While some undoubtedly hoped for more aggressive pricing from Apple, the current prices clearly reflect Apple's ongoing strategy to maintain its premium status.\"\nBeyond that, there are concerns that Apple's supply of new iPads \u2014 particularly the Retina iPad mini \u2014 will be severely constrained, which may also limit its potential market share gains. \nImage: Mashable"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2013/10/31/ipad-market-share/>