According to a report published by DisplaySearch, iPad is playing a lonesome hand in leading the charge of becoming a PC alternative. The report titled Quarterly Advanced Notebook PC Shipment and Forecast Report which keeps track of 5 inch and higher PC tablets has some interesting insight into the ongoing battle between the notebook and the tablet market.

According to the report, iPad’s ripple effect may have been more evident if Apple managed to cope up with the unanticipated Apple Tablet demand. Interestingly the report says users wanting more functionality went for notebooks instead of iPad:

Buyers chose iPad as a thin, lightweight device but buyers seeking more functionality chose larger notebooks, with only slightly higher ASPs. The price gap between the average 11.6-inch ultra-portable (ultra-thin) notebook and the average 15.6-inch portable notebook fell to less than US$60 in the second quarter.

So what is the future prediction for Cupertinos revenue generating Apple Tablet? iPad will continue to dominate and will take market share from netbooks which will definitely worry the likes of Dell, Acer and others:

DisplaySearch expects mini-notes to continue to sell well in emerging economies to first-time PC buyers. However, looking forward, it expects tablets like the iPad will continue to take market share from mini-notes and the ultra-portable segment in regions where PCs have high penetration rates.

[via Digitimes]