Dive Brief:

• With growth in tablet sales to consumers slowing dramatically, purchasing by institutions such as schools is the main driver behind increasing tablet adoption.
• In the fourth quarter of 2013, tablet sales grew 28.2% year over year, down from growth of 87.1% the year before.
• While sales of iPads slowed, Apple remained the largest tablet producer in the last quarter of 2013.

Dive Insight:

It's important to note that declining growth is not the same as declining sales. In many industries, a nearly 30% year-over-year growth rate would be cause for celebration. IDC has a complete report on the state of the tablet market, including a breakdown of sales by manufacturer. 

That education is now leading the growth in the market isn't really surprising when you think about it, especially given the Los Angeles Unified School District's $1-billion rollout. It's already tens of millions of dollars into the deal, but even with the recent announcement of a price cut is still dropping a hefty sum into the tablet market.