Tablet shipments fell by 28% in Q1, full-year forecast still up on iPad demand, IDC s

Tablet shipments following the 2010 holiday season dropped by more than a quarter according to market watcher IDC, but the firm still raised its full-year forecast in its latest Worldwide Quarterly Media Tablet and eReader Tracker report. First-quarter 2011 tablet shipments were down by 28% sequentially according to IDC, due to iPad shipments that were “well below expectations.” Yet the firm has high hopes for Apple’s iPad 2 tablet in 2011, and it raised its full-year shipment estimates to 53.5 million units from 50.4 million units as a result. Apple isn’t the only company finding success with tablets, however, as Android tablets were up 8.2 points sequentially to 34% of total shipments in the first quarter according to IDC. ”Like the PC market, Media Tablets had a bit of a challenging quarter in Q1, as concerns about general macroeconomic issues and the post-holiday letdown took a toll on demand,” said IDC’s VP of Clients and Displays Bob O’Donnell in a statement. “We expect the rest of the year to be much stronger, but we believe vendors who continue to focus on the telco channel for distribution will face serious challenges.” O’Donnell’s colleague Jennifer Song, IDC Research Analyst, added, “Although media tablet sales were not as high as expected in 1Q11 due to slower consumer demand, overall economic conditions, and supply-chain constraints, we believe with the entrance of competitive new devices in second half of 2011, the market will sell close to 53 million units for the year and continue to grow long-term.” IDC’s full press release follows below.