It's only a matter of time before Android overtakes iOS in the tablet space.

The open source nature of Android is perhaps a double edged sword, depending on how you look at the situation. On one hand, fragmentation is a sometimes annoying byproduct of having so many different device makers putting their own spin on the operating system, which is why Android 2.3.x (Gingerbread) is still the most popular version of Android to date. On the other hand, it's the very reason why Android's market share is so much higher than Apple's iOS platform. The one exception is tablets, but given enough time, it's inevitable Android slates will outnumber the iPad.

Android is by far the most popular smartphone platform on the planet, according to data by the IDC.

You can't really call it a smartphone battle royale when the only armies on the battlefield are Android and iOS. Google's open source platform closed out 2012 with a 70.1 percent share of the global smartphone market by way of 159.8 million handset shipments, making it by far the most popular platform. Next in line is iOS (iPhone), a distant second with 47.8 million iPhone sales to claim a 21 percent share of the market. Together, the two platforms accounted for just over 9 out of every 10 smartphones sold last year.

With Microsoft getting ready to launch its next generation operating system (OS), buyers and vendors appear stuck in a holding pattern staring at soon-to-be dated inventory. As a result, analysts at International Data Corporation (IDC) lowered their outlook on the market and now predict the PC shipments will grow just 0.9 percent in 2012. That's actually up slightly compared to one year ago, though it's the second consecutive year of sub-2 percent growth, IDC says.

International Data Corporation is forecasting a 4 percent year-over-year growth rate for the worldwide mobile phone market in 2012, which would be the lowest it's been since 2009. Why the slow growth compared to previous years? IDC says it's because of the decline in feature phone shipments, as owners of older devices cling to their phones, which serve them just fine for talking and texting. Meanwhile, smartphone shipments will pick up some of the slack and are forecast to grow 38.8 percent year-over-year to 686 million units in 2012, at precisely the time Android peaks in terms of market share.