Between mobile device sales and app downloads, the close of 2012 delivered an epic finish to mobile’s greatest year. But not every category in mobile finished 2012 on a high note.
According to the latest data published this week by the Chitika ad network, tablet Web traffic took a tumble in late December, led by Apple’s iPad.
“Perhaps the most interesting result of this study concerns the iPad,” the report from Chitika reads. “The tablet which brought the product category into the mainstream, Apple’s product has long been the king of the market. However, this Christmas marked a serious diversification in tablet shares, with the iPad falling 7.1% in its share in the days after Christmas, from 86.0% to 78.9% following the holiday.”
This substantial change underscores the inroads non-iPad tablets made this holiday season, reflecting some initial holiday sales estimates released by companies like Amazon. Their Kindle Fire HD tablet was the top-selling product on Amazon.com on Black Friday.
So is Chitika losing faith in Apple’s revolutionary touchscreen tablet? Not exactly.
“Despite the gains by competitors, we expect that the iPad’s share of tablet traffic will return to the 80 percent range, albeit lower than pre-holiday levels, as users return from vacation and browse with their new devices less frequently,” the company said.
To review Chitika’s list of biggest winners and losers from the close of 2012, check out the infographic below.
