Apple rumored to release 3rd iPad this winter, redesigned MacBook Pro in 2012

Of the approximately 4.5 million tablets sold in the third quarter of 2010, about 93 percent were Apple iPads, according to Wednesday data from ABI Research.

Those numbers indicate that media tablets are the "promising new talent" in the tech world, ABI said.

"Over time, Apple's first-to-market iPad advantage will inevitably erode to some extent," senior practice director Jeff Orr said in a statement. "ABI Research has been tracking media tablets since December 2009; future quarterly editions of this Market Data product will include market share tracking of all the major media tablet vendors."

Apple dominating the tablet space is not exactly a surprise. It was really the only consumer tablet available last year until Samsung unveiled its Galaxy Tab. There is now another competitor; the Motorola Xoom launched Thursday.

ABI also looked at e-books and netbooks. E-books reader vendors "continued to do well," the firm said, while the first half of 2010 was slow for netbooks. That was partially due to the fact that few companies introduced new netbooks.

"The third quarter saw PC OEMs again breathe life into the segment by introducing new platforms that offered dual-core processors, and lighter/thinner devices with significantly better performance, sleek styling, and visual appeal," Orr said.