Apple 3Q share of tablets drops to 50 pct

Apple's share of the market for tablet computers fell to 50 percent in the third quarter as the iPad faced more competition from Android devices such as Samsung's Galaxy tablets and Google's Nexus 7.Apple still had a solid lead and shipped more iPads worldwide than a year earlier, according to Monday's study by IDC. Apple had no new tablets out in the third quarter. It also might have seen sales slow amid expectations of a smaller iPad.Apple could regain share in the holiday quarter with last Friday's release of new iPad devices, including the iPad Mini. Apple said Monday that it sold 3 million iPads of all kinds through the weekend, double the 1.5 million iPads sold in the first three days after Apple launched the third-generation iPad in March and cut the price of the iPad 2.

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