Gartner: Tablet sales may hit 208 million units in 2014

Gartner predicts sales of media tablets may surpass 208 million units in 2014, up from 19.5 million units in 2010. The research firm predicts low-end consumer notebooks and smartphones will only marginally suffer from cannibalization, the majority of the impact from tablets will be on high-end smartphones as consumers will find it hard to justify owning both. Tablets are also expected to drop significantly in price, Gartner estimates the average selling price will drop below $300 over the next two years.

Worldwide media tablet sales to end users are forecast to reach 19.5 million units in 2010, according to Gartner. Media tablets are poised for strong growth with worldwide end user sales projected to total 54.8 million units in 2011, up 181% from 2010, and surpass 208 million units in 2014.

“The all-in-one nature of media tablets will result in the cannibalization of other consumer electronics devices such as e-readers, gaming devices and media players. Mini notebooks will suffer from the strongest cannibalization threat as media tablet average selling prices (ASPs) drop below $300 over the next 2 years," said Carolina Milanesi, research vice president at Gartner.