Sprint is planning to bolster its tablet computer range in 2011, in order to target business customers intending to replace laptop computers, Reuters reports. Paget Alves, president of Business Markets for the operator, specifically cited interest in RIM’s BlackBerry PlayBook from corporates, based on the fact that these customers “have an interest in something that’s complementary to the server-based BlackBerry service” – although these customers are also waiting until the device is commercially available before making any purchasing decisions. Alves expects to offer a “broad portfolio” of devices as well as the Samsung Galaxy Tab which is already available, with a number of products likely to be introduced at January 2011’s Consumer Electronics Show, Reuters says.

This week analyst firm Ovum published its forecast for devices with “lite” operating systems, which includes tablets, forecasting shipments of 14.2 million by the end of 2010, rising to 150.1 million in the 2015 calendar year. While Apple currently has around 90 percent of the total market, this will fall to 35 percent in 2015, when devices powered by Google’s Android platform will be the biggest category – but only by 1 point, at 36 percent. Shipment volumes will be dominated by the Asia-Pacific region at the end of the period, due to the size of the addressable market and the relatively low penetration of PCs. In terms of market penetration, however, North America will dominate (23 percent) followed by Western Europe (19 percent).