Tablet sales in Australia have doubled in 2013 to reach 4.8 million units, according to Telsyte.

The once perennial "feature phones" market took a beating when smartphones were introduced. With a handset in everyone's pocket, the interest in tablet computers picked up from the start of 2013.

Australian consumers have a sound reputation as early adopters of technology, hence it may not be a surprise that the tablet sales reached a whopping 4.8 million units.

Telsyte, a research firm, highlighted the size of the momentum, with sales of tablets in a never before upswing and the local market worth $2.4 billion (retail price) at the end of the year, Technology Spectator claimed.

The humungus sales have promoted market penetration of tablets to 40 percent, with about 9.4 million Australians using tablets at the end of 2013, according to Telsyte.

The sharp rise in the tablet sales is only getting stronger day-by-day and Telsyte claimed tablet penetration in Australia will exceed computer/personal computer penetration during the middle of 2015.

Who is the Biggest Beneficiary?

There is a rising trend among consumers, especially youngsters, to use tablets/phablets as their main computing device. The increased disposition toward superfast, light-weight, and touch-enabled devices are making the tablets sell like hot cakes.

The portability factor is also one of the main reasons people prefer a good tablet over a laptop.

Foad Fadaghi, Telsyte's managing director said, "While this is a bad news for desktop computers/PCs, the shift in preferences is creating new digital opportunities that span consumer services, education and entertainment."

When it comes to tablet brands, Apple is the kingmaker with a huge market share. Although Apple is the biggest beneficiary of this trend, there are other prominent low-cost, Android-based tablets in the market. The competitors are keeping a check on Apple's dominance.

Statistics

Android-based tablet sales grew by 186 percen, with more than 1.9 million devices purchased in 2013, while Apple sales grew by 52 percent to 2.6 million units in 2013, according to ARN Net.

The advent of low-cost, super-sleek Android devices, with features and specifications prepped up to woo users should be the biggest threat to Apple's market share and will also significantly impact Samsung and other premium vendors in the long run.

According to reports, with 29 percent of units sold in 2013, at a cost of $450 per tablet unit, Apple's market share dropped from 72 percent in 2012 to 55 percentage in 2013.

But things are not as gloomy as portrayed, the growth in the $450 tablet segment is expected to grow by 50 percent by 2018, ARN Net said.

Like how Feature Phones bit the bullet, will laptops see the same fate owing to tablet/phablet emergence?