Despite growing competition in the tablet market, Apple’s iPad still managed to keep the crown and lead the pack, according to ABI Research’s survey. With a total of 11.8 million shipments in the first quarter of 2012, Apple now holds 65 percent of the market. Their sales significantly shot up with the release of the third generation iPad and the price reduction of the iPad2.

Kindle Fire had blazing sales during the holiday season of 2011 but was not able to sustain it. Amazon’s sales dropped by 80 percent early this year, making the number two spot available. Samsung conveniently took over Amazon’s place. But with only 1.1 million shipments, or six percent of the market, they still sit a little far behind.

Apple succeeded despite some negative feedback, such as those from the Electronic Frontier Foundation. EFF likened Apple’s devices to “beautiful crystal prisons” due to the limitations of not having an open source community, as opposed to Android devices. While some people may agree to this, others believe that Apple’s closed system does have its benefits. For instance, this feature makes it difficult for kids to download and install bad apps, and easier for parents to manage their children’s devices.

Amidst all the comparison between the two products, ABI analyst Jeff Orr reported that Apple and Samsung are both demonstrating “staying power while other tablet vendors ebb and flow like the tide.”

With this at hand, other computer companies are taking steps to blend in with the new trend. Product launches by Research in Motion and Lenovo helped them earn 233 percent and 107 percent sales increase respectively. Hewlett-Packard, Dell, and LG are currently preparing for their mid-year tablet launches, coming out with either the Windows 8 platform or the latest version of Google’s Android.