Apple's iPad and iPad 2 activations (27.2 percent) exceeded Android smartphone and tablet activations (24 percent) for the first time ever. And when smartphones as well as tablets are included in the mix, Apple's iOS drove 75 percent of all enterprise activation activity -- with Android accounting for the remaining 25 percent in the second quarter. (Good Technology does not currently track BlackBerry or Windows Phone 7 activations).
"While Android may be gaining smartphone market share with consumers, our business users are clearly gravitating to the iPad and doing so in large numbers," said Good Technology Senior Vice President John Herrema.
"With new devices from Apple expected in the third quarter, we expect iOS to finish the year as strong as it started," the firm's report added.
Apple's Enterprise Dominance
Apple told investors Tuesday that 86 percent of Fortune 500 companies are deploying or testing iPad -- up from 75 percent in the prior quarter. "To be this far into the enterprise with a product that's only been shipping for 15 months in the case of iPad is absolutely incredible, because the enterprise is typically much more conservative and takes a long time to evaluate products," Apple COO Timothy Cook said.
The device maker sold more than 33 million iOS devices in the second quarter and now has more than 100,000 iPad-specific apps in its App Store. Moreover, Good Technology reports that the iPhone accounted for 66 percent of all activations in the second quarter, with Android smartphones representing nearly 33 percent.
Android accounted for 30.1 percent of all tablet shipments in the second quarter, according to Strategy Analytics. However, Good Technology pointed out that 95 percent of tablet activations in the enterprise space were iOS devices. Additionally, financial services accounted for 46 percent of net iPad activations among the top 10 industry verticals.
Due to perceived security issues among some IT administrators and corporate users, Android has gained relatively little traction in the enterprise space. And this is likely to remain a niche market for Android tablet vendors in the second half of this year, according to Strategy Analytics Director Neil Mawston.
Android's Consumer Opportunities
The consumer space is where the Android platform is poised to make the most gains in the second half of this year with the launch of new tablets from familiar vendors such as Lenovo and Sony. Amazon.com is also rumored to be interested in entering the Android tablet race later this year, which would "bring fresh excitement and buzz" to the Android community, Mawston noted.
"But Amazon will need to deliver a truly standout offering if it really wants to make headway against the popular iPad," Mawston said.
Barnes & Noble is another possible Android tablet player. "If B&N sticks with e-book readers, then it risks lagging behind Amazon -- or being consumed by the surging tablet market," Mawston said.
Mawston thinks Barnes & Noble will eventually have to "bite the bullet" and formally enter the tablet market while hoping that its products can be differentiated enough to stand out from the crowd. "However, B&N is relatively U.S.-centric, and it remains to be seen whether it can generate the scale or brand equity arguably needed to compete with the larger global players like Apple in the long term," he added.
