Gartner: Smartphone and Tablet Sales Will Top 1 Billion in 2013

Market researchers from Gartner predict that end users will buy 1.2 billion smartphones and tablets next year. That’s a 50 percent increase over this year’s sales.

According to the press release, “The consumerization trend has hit IT as an unstoppable force, as 821 million smart devices (smartphones and tablets) will be purchased worldwide in 2012 and pass the billion mark in 2013, according to Gartner, Inc. Smart devices will account for 70 percent of total devices sold in 2012.”

Computerworld’s Matt Hamblen noted, “Gartner also predicted that 66% of mobile workers will own a smartphone in 2016. More than half of those smartphones — 56% — will be Google’s Android devices.”

PCMag’s Angela Moscaritolo quoted Gartner’s Carolina Milanesi, who said, “For most businesses, smartphones and tablets will not entirely replace PCs, but the ubiquity of smartphones and the increasing popularity of tablets are changing the way businesses look at their device strategies and the way consumers embrace devices.”

TechCrunch’s Natasha Lomas observed, “While businesses have traditionally lagged consumer markets when it comes to adopting new devices, tablet sales to businesses are set to grow substantially in the coming years, according to Gartner. It’s predicting tablet purchases by businesses will grow 3x by 2016 — describing slates as ‘they key accelerator to mobility’ for enterprises. Tablet purchases by businesses will reach 13 million units this year, says Gartner, more than tripling by 2016 to reach 53 million units.”