Apple IPad growth to fall behind

SAN FRANCISCO - Shipping tablet that runs Google's Android Inc. will overtake the iPad for the first time this year, research house IDC estimates on Tuesday, as Apple Inc CEDES mobile market share over the hard-charging rivals around the world.

Various Android tablet grows smaller and cheaper than Google to Amazon.com Inc. will capture this year with more consumers and chip away at the dominance of Apple's iPad since its launch in 2010, International Data Corp. said.

iPad and iPhone shipments are expected to continue growing at an enviable, but rivals Samsung Electronics and others have hurt Apple with a combination of savvy marketing, greater variety and rapid technology adoption.

On Thursday, Samsung took the wraps off a fourth-generation Galaxy flagship smartphone that helps South Korean giant iPhone knocked off top ranking for part of the year.

A growing perception that the company co-founded by Steve Jobs will probably lose its competitiveness has been weighing on the stock, which has lost more than a third of their value since hitting a high in September.