Before I give you the estimated number of tablet computers that are expected to ship in full year 2012, let me give you a bit of perspective on the figure.  In the full year of 2010 – the year the iPad was first introduced – worldwide sales of the iPad reached 17.3 units sold.  Just in 2Q 2012 alone, Apple has shipped over 17.0 million iPads – yes, that’s just in one quarter.  But don’t rule out the smaller competitors.  Yes, the iPad is the dominant tablet pc on the market, but it’s definitely not the only tablet selling out there.  In 2012, both Samsung and Amazon have posted comparatively impressive numbers in tablet sales.  Although, we can expect Samsung to be taking a major hit in their worldwide tablet sales since being found guilty of copyright infringements against Apple.

Ok – are you ready for the ridiculous tablet pc sales figure that’s expected in 2012?  According to  ABI Research, 2012 will see approximately 110 million tablets shipped for the full year.  That’s more than twice the number of laptops that were sold in the U.S. in 2011, and it’s expected that tablet sales will eclipse pc sales by 2015, and will grow into a $100 billion market, according to BI.