iPad users have downloaded three billion apps since the device’s launch in 2010, making up 19 percent of all cumulative downloads by Apple users, according to analyst firm ABI Research.

The company said it took two years for the iPhone to reach this number of downloads, whereas the iPad achieved it within a year-and-a-half.

It was also noted that Android tablet users have only downloaded around 440 million apps so far. It was suggested that this is expected to change as manufactures adopt Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich), as well as accelerating product development to close the “specifications gap” between tablets and the iPad.

Lim Shiyang, research associate for the company, said: “Discounting all those apps that were originally developed for Android smartphones, Android still trails greatly behind the iPad in terms of its tablet app offerings. Many Android tablets in the market are still using older versions of Android, which disadvantages users from enjoying the better effects of apps produced from more advanced software development kits.”