The rapid growth of the tablet market leads research firm Gartner to predict the technology will become mainstream in five to 10 years, and mobile marketers should take note.

Market research firm Gartner recently said that the tablet will become mainstream within five to 10 years, as both consumers and enterprise IT departments adopt more highly capable mobile devices.

In its study, called “iPad and Beyond: What the Future of Computing Holds,” Gartner found that more people will adopt the tablet as their primary computing device. Improvements in the technology will make tablets more affordable and better performing.

Additionally, the research firm predicts that more tablet applications will be available either through software designed for each operating system or via cloud-based solutions for access on any internet-connected device.

“During the next five to 10 years, media tablets will instigate change in computing form factors; modular designs will enable tablets to take on new functions, becoming the cross-platform controller and brain for hybrid consumer electronics and computers,” Angela McIntyre, research director at Gartner, said in a release. “Tablets will be substitutes for several of the consumer electronics consumers often carry with them.”

As the way people use the internet changes, online marketing will evolve accordingly. Search and social media use have skyrocketed in recent years, boosted in part by the growth of the mobile web. Diverse initiatives that include content marketing and aggressive social media marketing can help businesses leverage consumers’ growing web use and reliance.

Among the most recent entrants into the tablet market is the Amazon Kindle Fire. Brafton recently reported that the device, which does not ship until November, may challenge records set by the iPad based on its current pre-sale figures.

Joe Meloni is Brafton's former Executive News and Content Writer. He studied journalism at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and has written for a number of print and web-based publications.