Global tablet sales grow by 28% to 195.4 million units in 2013 Gartner reports, with lower-end smaller screen devices driving growth and making Android #1 tablet OS for the first time.

According to the analyst Android 2013 tablet share totals 61.9%, up from 45.8% in 2012. On the other hand Apple sees a decline of 16.8 percentage points with iPad share dropping from 52.8% in 2012 to 36% in 2013.

Microsoft tablet volumes see improvement (from 1.2m units in 2012 to 4m in 2013) but 2013 share remains small at 2.1%.

"In 2013 tablets became a mainstream phenomenon, with a vast choice of Android-based tablets being within the budget of mainstream consumers while still offering adequate specifications," Gartner says. "As the Android tablet market becomes highly commoditised, in 2014 it will be critical for vendors to focus on device experience and meaningful technology and ecosystem value-— beyond just hardware and cost-— to ensure brand loyalty and improved margins."

European tablet sales manage to beat laptops for the first time in Q4 2013 according to Context, with sales reaching a record high of 4.5 million units to account for 57% of the combined notebook, netbook and tablet segment.

However the device segment sees plummeting growth despite such sales numbers-- growth from Q1 2013 to Q4 2014 is down from 204.5% to 39.1% due to such devices becoming increasingly commoditised.

Android leads as OS of choice, taking over 69.8% European market share with 82.2% growth. Budget 7-inch Android devices are the most popular, with Q4 2013 sales growing by 100% Y-o-Y to 1.59m units. Larger 10.1-inch (38.7% growth) and 8-inch (578% growth) tablets are also popular.

On the other hand the iPad has 28.9% share as it grows by just 2.7%. Surface Q4 2013 share remains flat at 0.9%, even if might see slow growth in the future through growing interest from the enterprise segment.

According to Gartner global smartphone sales to end users account for 53.6% of overall 2013 mobile phone sales-- the first time smartphones exceeded annual feature phone sales according to the analyst.

Global mobile phone sales total 1.8 billion units, a 3.5% increase over 2012.

Smartphones sales for 2013 total 967 million units with 42.3% growth, while Q4 2013 sales reach 282m units with 44% Y-o-Y growth thanks to strong sales in emerging markets such as MEA and E. Europe offsetting weaker sales in mature markets.

"Mature markets face limited growth potential as the markets are saturated with smartphone sales, leaving little room for growth with declining feature phone market and a longer replacement cycle," Gartner states. "Lack of compelling hardware innovation has further exacerbated replacement cycles for high-end smartphones in 2013 because consumers don't find enough reasons to upgrade."

According to Gartner global device (as in PCs, tablets, ultramobiles and mobile phones) shipments will reach 2.5 billion with 7.6% growth in 2014, with Android as dominant OS across all device categories.

"The device market continues to evolve, with buyers deciding which combination of devices is required to meet their wants and needs," Gartner says. "Mobile phones are a must have and will continue to grow but at a slower pace, with opportunities moving away from the top-end premium devices to mid-end basic products."

Mobile phones should dominate, with 2014 shipments reaching 1.9bn with 5% growth. Ultramobiles (covering tablets, hybrids and clamshells) will take over as main growth driver, as 2014 growth is forecast to reach 54%.

"Complimentary smaller tablets will take over from the larger tablet form factors, providing the added mobility that consumers desire at a lower cost and will compete with hybrids for consumer attention," the analyst adds.