IDC: Tablet sales slow, Nook Color ousts Kindle as lead ereader

July 8, 2011 | Devindra Hardawar, Mobile Beat

Global tablet shipments fell 28 percent to 7.2 million units in the first quarter, compared to fourth quarter sales in 2010, according to market intelligence firm IDC.
Sales of ereaders, which IDC counts separately from tablets (rightly so), also fell for the quarter. But IDC notes that for the first time ever, Barnes & Noble’s Nook Color — an ereader with a healthy dose of tablet-like functionality — has toppled Amazon’s Kindle as the lead device in the category.
The tablet sales dip reflects seasonal trends that normally affect more mature consumer electronics categories, IDC said, which hints that consumer demand for tablets may be far less than the hype the category has built up. That’s bad news for every tablet manufacturer except Apple, whose iPad (now the iPad 2) continues the dominate the category.
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