In a Thursday-issued report, Forrester Research analyst Sarah Rotman Epps has projected that the sales of tablet computers will beat the sales of netbooks by 2012. Noting that tablet computers are on the verge of exploding in terms of sales growth, Epps said that the sales of tablets will likely touch 60 million units by 2015.

In the opinion of Epps, the Apple iPad and other tablets will necessarily not substitute the PC; and most Internet users will probably have more than one computing device in their homes. 

Further adding that, in 2015, almost 23 percent of all PCs sold to consumers in the US will be tablets, Epps interestingly also predicts the desktops will still remain the most preferred system for consumers, vis-à-vis any other type of PC.  

Though acknowledging the fact the tablets unfold new business opportunities for media companies looking to make money via sale of online content, Epps and publishers - speaking at Big Money’s Untethered 2010 conference in New York on Thursday – also cautioned that the tablets will have to cross over certain obstacles to achieve the projected popularity. 

Advising media companies to experiment on a number of platforms ‘early,’ Epps said that, for publishers, “there are some advantages to being an early mover. It allows you to test different price points and gives you an edge with advertisers. It also makes you a forward-looking company.”