<p>There's good news and bad news for Microsoft in a recent IDC report about tablets. The good news is that Windows tablet sales will surge in the next four years. The bad news is that even then, they'll be only 10% of the market.</p><p>In the report, IDC increases the number of tablets it expects to be sold in 2012, 122.3 million of them, compared to a 117.1 million estimate previously. By 2016, it expects a whopping 282.7 million tablets to be sold.</p><p>Apple tablets will rule the roost for years to come, according to IDC. In 2012, it will have 53.8% of the market, and by 2016 it will have 49.7% of the market. Android, meanwhile, will have 42.7% market share this year, and 39.7% in 2016.</p><p>Windows tablets will grow from a 2.9% market share in 2016 to a 10.3% market share in 2016. In terms of actual shipments, Windows tablets will see a 69.2% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), while Apple will see a 20.9% CAGR and Android a 21% CAGR.</p><p><a href="http://blogs.computerworld.com/windows/21456/windows-8-tablets-will-lag-far-behind-ios-and-android-years-says-idc">Keep reading...</a></p><p>Read also:</p><p><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/windows-8-christmas-gift-someone-hate-151046424.html">Windows 8: A &#039;Christmas gift for someone you hate&#039;</a> (Yahoo! News (blog))</p><p><a href="http://www.cio.com/article/723177/Can_Microsoft_Survive_If_Windows_8_Fails_">Can Microsoft Survive If Windows 8 Fails?</a> (CIO)</p><p><a href="http://www.inquisitr.com/426167/my-great-windows-8-misadventure/">My Great Windows 8 Misadventure</a> (The Inquisitr)</p><p>Explore: <a href="http://news.google.com/news/more?ncl=dpYfjwgZxH3BfxMsRNPJvyv4Ovi8M&ned=us">172 additional articles.</a></p>