It was a good year for tablets during 2013, and Google Android led the way.

According to information technology research and advisory company Gartner Inc., 195.4 million tablet units were sold worldwide during 2013, which is a 68 percent increase from the previous year. Gartner noted 116.3 million tablets were sold in 2012.

The latest data also showed a shift in the top operating system among the tablets.

Apple's iOS platform accounted for 52.8 percent of the tablet market share in 2012. With approximately 61.5 million units sold, iOS was the top operating system in 2012 but that changed in 2013.

Google's Android placed second among the top operating systems in 2012 with 45.8 percent of the market share, or 53.3 million units sold. By the end of 2013, Android increased its market share by double digits and more than double the tablets sold. For 2013, Android represented 61.9 percent of the market share, and 121 million units sold.

"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," said Gartner's Research Director Roberta Cozza. "As the Android tablet market becomes highly commoditized, 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."

With Google's mobile operating system on top, iOS fell to second place. Apple lost 16.8 percent of its 2012 market share and finished with 36 percent for 2013. Despite the loss in its market share, Apple did see a sales increase of their iPads from 61.5 million to 70 million.

Cozza added, "Apple's tablets remain strong in the higher end of the market and, Apple's approach will continue to force vendors to compete with full ecosystem offerings, even in the smaller-screen market as the iPad mini sees a greater share."

Similar to Android, Microsoft encountered an increase in both market share percentage and sales. Microsoft tablets represented 2.1 percent of the 2013 market share, which is an increase from 1 percentage point. When it comes to sales, Microsoft sold 4.03 million tablets, an increase from 1.2 million units in 2012.

"To compete, Microsoft needs to create compelling ecosystem proposition for consumers and developers across all mobile devices, as tablets and smartphones become key devices for delivering applications and services to users beyond the PC," noted Gartner's research director.

Additional operating systems, classified as "Other," saw a decline in both sales and market share. "Other" operating systems accounted for less than 0.1 percent of the market share, which is down from 0.3 percent during 2012, due to sales declining from 379,999 units to 41,598 units.

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