Research: iOS5 On 33% Of All Compatible Devices, iPad Sales Accelerate

Estimates from mobile industry research firms suggest Apple has seen quick but uneven adoption following last week's release of iOS5, as well as accelerating shipments for its popular iPad tablet. Alongside Apple's announcement that over 25 million users have already downloaded iOS5 since its introduction October 12, research firm Localytics estimates that these downloads represent 33 percent of all iOS5-compatible devices currently in use. The OS upgrade, which includes support for many new features of interest to game developers, has been installed by 36 percent of iPad 2 owners but only 17 percent of third-generation iPod Touch owners, according to the report. Meanwhile, Digitimes Research estimates that Apple sold 13 million iPad 2 units in the third quarter of 2011, up 36.8 percent from iPad shipments from the same quarter a year ago. While Digitimes notes that this shipment number is still below Apple's projections for the popular tablet, it still represents nearly 70 percent of all shipped tablet devices for the period. Shipments of non-iPad tablets are also growing more slowly than those for Apple's iPad, increasing only 10 percent year-over-year for the quarter.