In its latest report titled “Tablet & eReader Evolution: Strategies & Opportunities 2011-2016,” Juniper Research is assessing the growing tablet market. According to the company, the number of tablet shipments will reach 253 million by 2016, which is nearly a five-fold increase from the 55.2 million tablets expected to ship this year.
Although most tablets sold today are Wi-Fi only, more than a half of all tablets shipped in 2016 will also have a cellular connection. At present, carriers ask customers to commit on two contracts – one for their mobile phone and the other one for tablet. Juniper argues this will change soon with mobile operators introducing multi-device plans. In addition, emerging markets will also help push sales of tablets with cellular connection due to lack of fixed-line infrastructure.
Finally, the research company is also talking about Microsoft and their tablet-friendly Windows 8 OS, which along with the MS Office suite could push enterprises to adopt tablets. Speaking of business users, Juniper forecasts that nearly a fifth of annual tablet shipments will reach the enterprise space by 2016…