HP TouchPad top-selling tablet in US after iPad: study

Hewlett-Packard's TouchPad, which is being axed by the company, was the top-selling tablet computer in the United States after Apple's iPad in the first 10 months of the year, market research company NPD Group said Tuesday.

The TouchPad accounted for 17 percent of the 1.2 million non-Apple tablets sold in the United States between January and October, NPD said, edging out Galaxy tablets from South Korea's Samsung, which had a 16 percent market share.

Taiwan's Asus accounted for 10 percent of the non-Apple tablets sold during the period followed by Motorola, maker of the Xoom tablet, and Taiwan's Acer, each with nine percent market share, NPD said.

Apple sold 11.12 million iPads last quarter alone.

HP, citing disappointing sales, announced on August 18 it was discontinuing the TouchPad -- just seven weeks after it hit the market -- and abandoning the webOS operating system acquired from Palm that powered the device.

Two weeks later, HP said it planned one last production run of the TouchPad, which became a hot seller following a price cut from $499 to just $99 and the announcement that it was being abandoned.

Stephen Baker, NPD's vice president of industry analysis, said there are US tablet buyers interested in a device other than an iPad.

"Seventy-six percent of consumers who purchased a non-Apple tablet didn't even consider the iPad, an indication that a large group of consumers are looking for alternatives, and an opportunity for the rest of the market to grow their business," Baker said.

"The market is filled with long-time personal computer and phone brands as well as low-cost entrants," he said. "With a limited amount of shelf space and challenges in overcoming the iPad's first mover strength, not all brands will be successful."

One that is expected to be successful is US online retail giant Amazon, which began selling a tablet computer last week, the Kindle Fire.

A survey by ChangeWave Research of 3,043 North American consumers published Monday found that 65 percent of future tablet buyers plan to purchase an iPad but 22 percent said they will buy a Kindle Fire.

ChangeWave said the survey results should have other tablet makers worried.

"With the exception of the Samsung Galaxy Tab (four percent) no other manufacturer is garnering more than one percent of future tablet demand among consumers," said ChangeWave, a division of The 451 Group.