There is very little doubt that the tablet PC is extremely popular. Otherwise known as Ultra-Mobile Devices (UMDs), a new report shows that 37 million UMDs will ship into the United States by the end of this year. The expected revenue from UMD shipments through 2015 is expected to top a whopping $24 billion. These numbers show just how much the computer buying public is shifting away from buying desktop and even laptop PCs.

UMDs are actually not just tablet PCs but are actually four different kinds of mobile devices. The UMDs are composed of ultra-mobile PCs, mobile internet devices, netbooks, and tablets. This new report shows that even among UMDs, tablets are selling at a much faster rate than anything else is. A whopping 75 percent of UMDs that sell in 2011 will be tablets according to the report. Of course, the main reason that the tablet is so popular these days is that it is the newest device in the UMD field. Now the tablet is what most PC makers are focusing on thanks in large part to the iPad and iPad 2.

While Apple’s (News  - Alert) tablets have been the most popular in the genre, plenty of other companies have also been working hard on their own tablets. While most tablets that do not bare the Apple name employ anAndroid OS, there have been a couple of tablets that have tried to go it alone with very mixed results. The introduction of the Amazon Kindle Fire tablet is only going to stir the pot even more when it comes to UMD sales when it finally becomes available during the holiday season.

This particular report also points to the fact that at some point, there will be a UMD that is even more popular than the tablet PC. In 2010, the Netbook was incredibly popular as well with around 9.9 million units being shipped that year. Since the tablets have come out the netbooks have steadily lost their popularity. The Google (News - Alert) Chrome has shifted a little bit of interest back to this form of UMD but for now, tablets are king of the hill.

Edited by Rich Steeves