IDC: Top 5 Best-Selling Tablet Brands In Q3

Tablet Market Grows Again

The worldwide tablet market grew 11.5 percent from last year as 53.8 million units shipped in the third quarter, up from 48.3 million last year, according to IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Tablet Tracker.

The research firm said the growth is due in large part to the U.S. market as back-to-school promotions and the U.S. market's appetite for connected tablets fueled the rising numbers.

The U.S. tablet market grew 18.5 percent, IDC said, and is still one of the largest for tablets.

Here are the top five best-selling tablet brands of the third quarter.

5. RCA

RCA shipped 2.6 million units for 4.9 percent market share in the third quarter. This is up from a bit more than 900,000 tablets last year and good for year-over-year growth of 194 percent.

RCA was the biggest winner of back-to-school season, and IDC predicted the company's tablets will also be in high demand on Black Friday and the upcoming holiday season.

IDC said RCA's distribution deal with some of the largest retailers in the world was a huge benefit to the sales volume of its low-cost tablets.

4. Lenovo

Lenovo sold 3 million tablets worldwide for 5.7 percent market share. This is up from 2.3 million unit shipments in the year-ago quarter and good for year-over-year growth of 30.6 percent.

IDC said Lenovo fell to the fourth position in the market after being in third in the second quarter of this year.

The company benefited in emerging markets, and IDC said Lenovo has had the advantage of leveraging its brand and strength in the PC business to secure a strong position in the tablet market.

3. Asus

Asus sold 3.5 million units in the third quarter for market share of 6.5 percent. This is down from the 3.6 million units shipped in the year-ago quarter and is a year-over-year decline of 0.9 percent.

Asus regained its position as a top three vendor, a spot that it lost in the second quarter of this year.

Much of the company's gain was fueled by Windows-based 2-in-1 devices, IDC said.

2. Samsung

Samsung shipped 9.9 million units in the third quarter for market share of 18.3 percent. This is up from 9.3 million in the year-ago quarter and is good for year-over-year growth of 5.6 percent.

The Korean conglomerate has slowly begun to focus on North American, Middle East and African markets.

Samsung's market share declined from last year's 19.3 percent, but it was able to maintain its No. 2 position and ship more units while the overall market grew at a faster pace.

1. Apple

Apple shipped 12.3 million units in the third quarter for market share of 22.8 percent. This is down from 14.1 million iPads sold last year and is a year-over-year decline of 12.8 percent, the biggest drop in market share among the top five vendors.

During its earnings call, Apple stated that the life cycle of the iPad is extending and that is a major reason why users don't upgrade their devices as fast as users of entry- and midlevel tablets.

IDC said that as consumer anticipation of the release of the iPhone 6 during the third quarter built up, Apple saw a decline in its iPad numbers.

Apple expanded its iPad lineup to its widest offerings ever, IDC said, but it doesn't expect fourth-quarter iPad sales to outpace iPhone sales.