Apple Inc. had more than 90 percent of the tablet market in 2010 when it launched the iPad. The following year, Apple has continued to reap record sales of the 9.5-inch iPad, although its market share fell below 70 percent with the entry of Android tablets in the market. Next year, Apple could lose more ground as smartphone makers, PC makers and even online retailers like Amazon seek to bolster their media tablet lineups.

With a starting price of $499, the iPad 2 is one of the most expensive tablets in the market. But Apple's huge following, its sleek and easy-to-use platform, deep portfolio of apps and robust ecosystem have placed it in the driver's seat in the tablet race.

But 2012 could be different with the influx of tablets that have prices half of the entry-level iPad's, or those tablets with 4G-LTE connectivity or quad-core processors that make slates as powerful as desktops.

An Apple Insider report says suppliers Samsung, LG Display, and Sharp have begun shipping high-resolution displays, and Foxconn would begin assembly in January for the next-generation iPad. The iPad 3 is rumored to have an eye-popping doubled resolution of 2,048 x 1,536 pixels, a quad-core A6 CPU, a Qualcomm 4G LTE Gobi 4000 chip and a thinner, lighter battery.

But it remains to be seen if those specs would appear in the next-generation iPad 3. This year, Apple was expected to release an iPhone with a 4-inch screen, a near field communication chip, and 4G LTE connectivity, among many features. Apple instead released an iPhone 4S that looked the same as the previous model, apparently after objections by Steve Jobs over a bigger screen or production issues.

Nokia's Windows Tablet. After fire sales that brought down the price of the Hewlett-Packard TouchPad to $99 apiece, webOS probably surpassed Microsoft Windows 7 in market share, placing Microsoft at the bottom of the heap. But note that despite its transition from Symbian to Microsoft, Nokia will likely keep the top spot this year in smartphones sold and mobile phones (smartphones plus feature phones) because it has a distribution network wider than any other device-maker.

Nokia France's director general Paul Amsellem told French business publication Les Echos that Nokia will release next year a tablet computer running the yet-to-be-released Windows 8 software. Windows 8 is the first platform designed to work on smartphones, tablets and PCs.

Samsung Galaxy Tab/ Windows 8 Tab. Although Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 and other smaller variations have gained ground against the iPad this year, Samsung's tablet releases and updates have been hit by injunctions in the Netherlands, Australia and other countries due to its patent infringement disputes with Apple Inc.

But Samsung could have better luck next year. Uhm Kyu Ho, head of sales and marketing for Samsung's PC business, revealed to Bloomberg that Samsung would be releasing a tablet running on Windows 8 in the second half of next year. Samsung unveiled a test-version of the tablet at a Windows conference in September. The device has an 11.6-inch, 1366 x 768 resolution, an Intel second-generation Core i5 chip and 4 GB of RAM, according to PC World.

Kindle Fire 2. The Kindle Fire released this year won't likely kill the iPad 2. Although the $199 price tag and the wide array of movies and content over the $79 a year Amazon Prime are attractive, Apple still has the wide library of apps that cover anything, and the iPad 2 has a better camera, has a larger screen, and a better interface. But if Amazon boosts the hardware of the second generation Kindle Fire but retain the price, then Apple should lose its market share.

Third-Generation ASUS Transformer. ASUS has unveiled the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime, an ultra-thin tablet with a powerful quad-core processor. Asus is poised to make the iPad look outdated with the revolutionary features of the second-generation Transformer, which will hit shelves in December. With the quad-core CPU, 12-core GeForce GPU and vSMP technology, the Transformer Prime provides extreme multitasking capabilities, lightning fast app loading, a rich and fluid web experience, full 1080P HD video playback or recording without compromising battery life, and of course, console-quality gaming.

The Transformer Prime's signature feature is the mobile dock which turns the tablet into a laptop. ASUS has barged into the world's top 5 biggest sellers of desktops and PCs, but has yet to establish its name in the tablet market. Apple is leading Android device makers with the first quad-core tablet. If ASUS keeps its momentum going the third generation Transformer that would be unveiled next year could topple the iPad.