The iPhone 5 isn't the only product that Apple's competitors should be worrying about, analysts have predicted the company will sell about 149 million iPads in 2015.

Research firm Gartner predicted that 63.6 million tablets will be sold worldwide in 2011, representing a 261 percent increase over tablet sales in 2010. Gartner expects Apple to dominate the tablet market this year, with a 73.4 percent share, selling 46.7 million iPads.

Android-based tablets will struggle and are expected to sell 11 million units this year, Gartner has said.

But it's the figures predicted for a few years down the line that catch the eye, with Gartner stating that Apple will shift a massive 148.7 million iPads in the year 2015; the future looks bright for the iPad 5, or whatever iteration we'll be at by then.

Android-based tablets are predicted to close the gap to Apple and are forecasted to sell around 116 million units in 2015, when the tablet marketplace will have swollen to 326 million units across all brands.

"Unless competitors can respond with a similar approach, challenges to Apple' position will be minimal," said Carolina Milanesi, a vice president of research at Gartner. "Apple had the foresight to create this market and in doing that planned for it as far as component supplies such as memory and screen. This allowed Apple to bring the iPad out at a very competitive price and no compromise in experience among the different models that offer storage and connectivity options."

As for Microsoft, Gartner believes that the company will sell about 4.3 million tablets in 2012, with that figure growing to 34.4 million by 2015.

Of course, these figures are predictions, and long-term ones at that, but there's no denying that the tablet market - and Apple's dominance of it - is only expected to go one way - up.

With the iPad 3 rumoured to appear in the first quarter of 2012, these predictions will make very good reading for Apple shareholders and the competition alike.

Microsoft IPhone IPad Android