Tablet PCs are expected to consume more than 10% of the NAND flash market in 2011, compared to the 5% it is estimated to reach in 2010. Along with smartphones, the two segments will be the primary demand drivers for the increased consumption of NAND chips in 2011.
More than 80% of all the major tablets, including ones being developed and readied for launch in the first half of 2011, use NAND flash chips for storage. Popular internal memory sizes for the portable computing devices are 16GB and 32GB, the research firm added.
More PC and handset companies are gearing up to roll out tablet-style devices during the second half of 2011. And with Google's open-source Android OS becoming more mature, the firm expects the adoption of tablet computers to accelerate next year.
Predicts around 50 million tablet PCs will be shipped in 2011, up significantly from the 15 million units forecast in 2010.