Like a middle child or overlooked understudy, tablets have struggled to shine under the all-powerful light of smartphones.

And while there may never be as many tablets as smartphones in the world, they fill an important, and increasingly lucrative, gap. Here’s the latest in tablet talk.

Firing up

Tablet sales peaked in 2013, and have levelled off since then.

In 2014 over 44% of US online consumers owned a tablet – this is up from 29% in 2013.

By 2017 it’s estimated 60% of online consumers in the US and Canada, and 42% of European shoppers, will own a tablet.

Android vs iOS

While the iPad ostensibly put the tablet on the map, Android tablets now outsell iOS by a significant amount.

At the end of 2014 Android tablets commanded 72% of market share, compared to 22.3% for iOS and 5.7% for Microsoft.

iPads are most popular in North America, Western Europe, Japan and Australia, while Android tablets are favoured in much of Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe.

Publishing powerhouse

Many publications have found a new lifeline through tablets.

Currently 14 of the top 15 highest-grossing Lifestyle iPad apps are magazine brands. Of these, the majority are Food and Drink publications.

Close to a quarter of B2B companies now use tablets for sales-related activities.

Growing App-etite

iPad users are nuts about apps. To date there have been over 1000 billion iPad apps downloaded, and at last count there were over 725,000 native iPad apps.

Games are by far the most popular category of app on Apple’s tablet, accounting for 48% of all downloads.

However those seeking their riches from app development might want to note that the average price of an iPad app is US$0.50.