Android operated tablet computers will be out-selling their iOS counterparts within the next two years, according to Neil Mawston, director of the US-based research firm Strategy Analytics.

It was Mr Mawston’s company that released the latest data on the two major sections of the fledgling tablet PC market, which showed Android still lagging behind Apple but having increased its share tenfold in the last three months of 2010.

The iPad still accounted for roughly three in every four tablet PCs sold worldwide during that time but Strategy Analytics’ boss is convinced that Apple’s lead on the competition will continue to be cut as months and years go by.

“Apple’s volumes will continue to go up, but market share will inevitably go down,” he told Bloomberg. “If you were to ask me in two years time, will Apple have less than 50 per cent of the global tablet market, I think that’s a certainty.”

Outlining the thinking behind his assertions, Mr Mawston suggested that price will be the defining factor that sees Android-operated tablets catch-up with Apple and the iPad, at least in terms of the number of units being sold on a monthly basis.

“Even at $500 retail, based on some of the research we’ve done, that’s probably two or three times more than what most mass market consumers are expecting to pay.”

The comments might come as slightly uncomfortable reading for Apple’s chief operating officer Tim Cook, who recently described the Android-operated tablets on the market as present as “vapour” and as nothing more than “scaled-up smartphones”.

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The much-anticipated release of Motorola’s Android tablet PC is now expected to happen in the US on February 17th.

An American or a worldwide release date has yet to be officially confirmed but internal info from the Best Buy retailer appears to have the Xoom slated for availability from the middle of next month.

Engadget received the info from unnamed sources and suggest it to be a strongest indication yet that Motorola is to release the first of its Android-operated tablet PCs within a matter of weeks.

Android tablet PCs have been on offer for a while, with Samsung’s Galaxy Tab the most prominent so far but interest in the Xoom has been intensifying since it was teased ahead of the Consumer Electronics Show and subsequently showcased with a Honeycomb version of Google’s operating system.

Pricing is naturally a key concern for anyone weighing up their tablet PC options and it is believed that the cost of buying a Xoom on its release in the US will be just shy of $700.

Motorola will do well to attract enough buyers of its Xoom to threaten the current tablet market dominance of the Apple iPad and to fend of competition from rival firms with Android operated slates up their sleeves as well.

However, there is widely reckoned to be plenty of room for growth in the mobile computing sector worldwide at present, with the financial services company Deloitte having recently predicted that ten million tablets will be sold to the enterprise sector alone over the course of this year, with iPads very much leading the way.

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Tablets, netbooks and smartphones have been tipped continue their rise in popularity as consumers worldwide look for more mobility from their computerised devices.

A report from Deloitte outlining the expected trends in consumer technology in 2011 suggests that small and portable devices will become increasing in use and in demand over the course of this year.

Businesses are likely to drive much of the shift towards tablets and netbooks as employers look to equip their workforces with ever more powerful portable computers, the professional services firm behind the latest research is convinced.

Indeed, the company is predicting that close to a quarter of all the tablet PCs sold this year will be be used by business men and women looking for new ways of operating.

A statement from the report said: “Although some commentators view tablets as underpowered media-consumption toys suitable only for consumers, more than ten million of these devices will likely be purchased by enterprises in 2011.”

Offering his take on this year’s technology trends, Deloitte’s vice chairman and technology expert, Eric Openshaw said: “Driven by high demand on the consumer side and the ever-increasingly distributed workforce, the enterprise will embrace mobile computing platforms in a big way.”

Businesses are reckoned to be increasingly adapting their security systems to ensure that the devices used by their employees are constantly protected and “safely web enabled” at all times.

Apple is currently number one in terms of tablet PC sales around the world, having shipped more than seven million iPads in the most recently assessed financial quarter. Meanwhile, several rival devices are set to be introduced into the market over the next few months by the likes of Motorola, Acer and Asustek.

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