The latest study from NPD DisplaySearch , the 'Quarterly Mobile PC Shipment and Forecast Report', reveals that Apple shipped 17.2 million mobile PCs in the first quarter of this year. Apple managed to reach a 118% cent year-over-year growth. The study shows that 80% of Apple's mobile PC shipments were iPads, of which the company sold 13.6 million in the first quarter, which comes to a 162% growth.

According to recent studies, Apple's revenue will be secured by iPad sales, as the company is working to revamp its other product ranges. Apple's tablets are expected to be among the best-selling products, as the company implements a new pricing strategy that makes the second-generation iPad more affordable. 

This month, the mediaME Editor has rounded-up the most shared news stories and headlines by mediaME users across social media platforms. Here are the 'most shared' stories for April 2012 which provide a summarized look-back at the month.

According to a recent report by Futuresource Consulting 'The Tablet Technology and Markets', the global tablet market is expected to sell 234 million units in 2016, up from 64 million units in 2011, and is estimated to witness a 200% increase for consumer use across the United States and Western Europe during the next two years. Mobile application downloads have also risen in 2011, with tablets accounting for 10% of total downloads. 

According to Tech Fortune, Apple sold 11 million iPads in the first quarter of 2012. However, estimates of sales according to different analysts vary from 9 to 15.6 million. The new iPad alone reportedly sold 3 million units in its debut weekend. The aggressive rollout that followed pushed the third generation iPad to 35 national markets in two weeks. Meanwhile, the iPad 2's prices went down, which is also thought to have boosted sales.

According to Google co-founder Sergey Brin, the freedom of the Internet is facing its greatest threat ever. In an interview published by Britain's Guardian newspaper, Brin said that the principles of openness and universal access are being squashed by governments in order to control populations around the world. "There are very powerful forces that have lined up against the open Internet on all sides and around the world," Brin said. "I am more worried than I have been in the past. It's scary."

A new Gartner forecast projects that overall tablet sales in 2012 will nearly double from 60 million units in 2011 to 118.9 million units in 2012. According to Gartner, the iPad will continue to dominate the market, with a 61.4% share of the global tablet market this year, based on sales of nearly 73 million units. That figure is expected to grow to 170 million units by 2016.

A Google tablet is expected to hit the market in July. Google originally planned to launch the tablet next month, but decided to push it back because the device was becoming too expensive. The device, which is being co-branded with hardware maker Asustek, will feature a 7-inch screen and is expected to run on Android 4.0, also know as “Ice cream sandwich.” This is Google's latest attempt to compete with Apple.