A Canalys report has revealed that these devices will make up a full half of all computers in 2014.

According to the research firm, Canalys, tablet commerce will soon have the potential to reach quite an explosive point, as these devices work their way toward dominance in the computing environment, worldwide.

They have predicted that these smaller screen devices will make up half of the entire market.

In fact, Canalys has said that tablet commerce will expand to the point that these devices will out ship nearly all other forms of personal computers combined. This will mean that they will make up almost half of the total consumer personal computer marketplace, which includes tablets, notebooks, laptops, and computers.

Already, this year, the computing marketplace growth is greatly driven by tablet commerce.

In the third quarter of this year, the worldwide client PC market increased by an estimated 18 percent. Even as desktop, notebook, and laptop shipments were starting to decline, the adoption of tablets allowed that market to continue its expansion. In fact, in that quarter, those shipments were already making up about 40 percent of all PCs. This was under half a million units behind the worldwide shipments of notebooks and laptops.

Canalys’s tablet commerce forecasts for 2014 are that 285 million units will be shipped. It has also predicted that this figure will increase by the year 2017 until it reaches 396 million. The leaders are predicted to be Samsung and Apple, which will maintain their dominance over the medium future, but as competition continues to grow in this market space, they are both expected to experience considerable challenges.

Apple has been able to keep its own top spot throughout this year, so far. The last quarter is expected to strengthen that manufacturer’s position because of the recent introduction of the newest iPad Air and the iPad Minis. However, Canalys also stated, through Tim Coulling, a Senior Analyst, that “Apple’s decline in PC market share is unavoidable when considering its business model. Samsung narrowly took the lead in EMEA this quarter and Apple will lose its position to competitors in more markets in the future.”

Coulling also pointed out that Apple is among a small number of companies that are actually making money from tablet commerce device sales, so far.

These quick response codes allow senders to attach video content to their letters and parcels.

Hrvatska Pošta, the Croatian mail system has already been using QR codes on stamps in order to allow the postal service in the country to be able to track the location of the mail that it is responsible for sending.

Now, Australia Post has also added these barcodes to its services, but in an entirely new way.

Where Hrvatska Pošta is using QR codes for internal functions that help them to better serve their customers, Australia Post is providing mail senders with an entirely new service. With these barcodes, customers in Australia can link them to video messages that they have recorded and then send them as stamps on physical envelopes that can be scanned by the recipient and viewed on their smartphones or tablets.

These postage stamps with QR codes are special editions and each have their own unique barcodes.

The quick response codes are printed on the envelopes for free for customers that are sending their mail through the Express Post or Express Courier International Service from the postal service. The service comes with an instruction card that signals to the recipient that this is more than just a standard barcode. It encourages them to download the Video Stamp app, for free, from the Apple App Store and from Google Play.

Those cards are attached to the packages and letters and can be peeled off by the recipient so that the directions can be followed. From the time that the letter is sent, the sender has 12 hours in which to record their video message so that it will be possible for the recipient to view the message upon receipt.

This unique use of the QR codes gives Australia Post the opportunity to bring their traditional type of shipping into the present by linking physical mail with the digital environment. This service has been released just in time for Christmas – the busiest time of the mail sending year – allowing consumers to be able to send their video messages to recipients along with cards and gifts.