Four years since Apple introduced the iPad and launched the tablet craze, the U.S. tablet market is maturing. In that short time, tablets have become not only the new entertainment go-to, encroaching on the TV set’s dominance, but they are threatening to supplant the PC as these portable devices become shopping and productivity aids. Here are five charts that put it all into perspective:
Shipments of tablets worldwide is forecast to grow 38.6 percent to more than 349 million units in 2014 as mobile-first adoption catches on,according to Gartner research. By 2015, tablet sales are forecast to overtake those of PCs, whose sales will have declined 6.6 percent in 2014.