Top 10 Best-Selling Tablet Brands Of 2013

The Best-Selling Tablets By Brand

The Android tablet invasion took its toll on Apple in 2013, stealing double-digit market share from the Cupertino, Calif., iPad giant.

According to market share data, Samsung robbed Apple of most of its tablet mojo, gaining 6.7 percent market share last year compared to Apple’s 10.1 percent drop. Android tablets also can be credited for dropping the average selling price of a tablet from $478 to $390, according to NPD Group, a Port Washington, N.Y.-based market research firm, which provides data from leading technology distributors.

NPD released its top 10 best-selling tablet brands of 2013, along with some fascinating insight into the tablet wars. What follows is NPD's top 10 list -- starting with No.10 -- and sprinkled in are some interesting data points.

10. Coby

Last on NPD's top 10 list is Coby Electronics, a company that went out of business in June of 2013 due to financial troubles. The electronics company, based in Lake Success, N.Y., made up 0.4 percent of total tablet units sold in 2013 before closing its doors after 22 years.

The Coby tablet models Kyros and MID were the company’s top tablets in 2013. Both were Android-based and ranged in size between 7 inches and 10 inches, and played at the lower end of the tablet market.

9. Microsoft

Microsoft's Surface tablets clock in at No. 9 on NPD's top 10 list of tablets, representing 0.6 percent of units sold.

Critics said the Surface series suffered for myriad reasons from price, dearth of apps and lack of availability to channel partners for resale into businesses.

8. Panasonic

Panasonic struggled to break into the tablet market in 2013 with its Android and Windows 8 slates representing 0.7 percent of units sold. No. 8 on NPD's list, Panasonic tried to carve a niche for itself, focusing on its ruggedized Toughpad series of tablets.

While Panasonic's market share would be considered a rounding error for Apple, it's notable that the company nearly doubled its market share from 0.4 percent the previous year to 0.7 percent.

7. Acer

Known for its inexpensive electronics hardware, Acer came in at No. 7 on NPD's best-selling tablet list, tying Panasonic with 0.7 percent market share.

Acer's top Iconia tablets featured Windows 8.1 standard on the devices and an 8-inch display. The 0.91-pound and 0.42-inch thin Iconia received an update in 2013 with a faster processor. Acer, however, lost market share in 2013, starting the year with a 1.1 percent share and ending it with 0.7 percent.

6. Hewlett-Packard

At No. 6 on NPD's list, Hewlett-Packard weighed in at 1.4 percent of units sold. HP actually saw a gain of 1.2 percent unit shares from 2012.

The Slate series from HP runs on the Android OS and features 7-inch and 8-inch screens. Starting at a sub-$200 price point, HP's tablets were some of 2013's most affordable tablets on the market.

5. Lenovo

Last year, Lenovo was stuck in the middle of NPD's top 10 pack of best-selling tablets. Since then, Lenovo gained 1.1 percent market share and today owns 1.7 percent of the tablet market.

The Chinese computer giant, according to NPD, found most of its success selling the Yoga series Android tablet. The device's name recognizes the tablet's unique built-in kickstand that allows the user to switch from consumption to content creation modes.

4. Asus

Asus had traction in 2013, moving the market share needle 4 percentage points from 0.4 percent of the market to 4.2 percent by year's end.

The Asus Transformer was the company's marquee tablet last year. With its 10.1-inch LED display, the gadget offers great visual features and 13 hours of battery life. The Transformer runs on the Android operating system and offers 2 GB of memory starting at $315.

3. Google

Coming in at No. 3 is Google's mobile tablet line Nexus. Google took home 8.8 percent of units sold in 2013, an increase of 3.1 unit shares from the previous year.

The Nexus 7 was the thinnest and lightest 7-inch tablet at the time it hit the market last summer. Starting at $229, this slate features the Android OS (of course), a 1,920-x-1,200 display and an above-average battery life.

2. Samsung

Samsung was the big winner in 2013 when it came to gaining market share and making Apple sweat.

The South Korean tech giant more than doubled its presence in the tablet market last year, growing from 6.5 percent of units sold in 2012 to 13.2 percent last year.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 was released last summer as two models, an 8-inch and a 10-inch tablet. Starting at $300, both featured speedy dual-core processors that gave the tablets a unique ability to run multiple apps at once -- something the iPad cannot.

Samsung is definitely the hot device maker to watch in 2014. Look for it to compete even more aggressively against Apple and its iPad in the year ahead.

1. Apple

No surprise here. The top tablet seller of 2013 was Apple with 65.6 percent of units sold, according to NPD. However, this was a drop-off from the previous year's 75.7 percent as Samsung and Google's Nexus tablets continued to rise in popularity.

Apple's iPad line has been the top of the tablet market since its original iPad release in 2010. The 9.7-inch, 1-pound iPad Air, which was announced in October, is Apple's thinnest and lightest tablet running on Apple's popular iOS 7. That is an upgrade from the previous iPad, running smoother and faster with a retina LED display.