The world’s media tablet market grew an astounding 45% in the third quarter of 2010, says the International Data Corporation (IDC). And what magical device is getting the credit? The iPad of course. Apple’s iPad was the force behind the growing demand.

According to IDC’s figures, vendors shipped almost 5 million units worldwide in the third quarter of 2010. The second quarter shipped over 3 million units, with the iPad steering almost 88% of tablets shipped.

The report finds the popularity of tablets was accompanied with increased adoption of e-readers as well, with a 40% growth over the second quarter. 2.7 million e-readers were shipped in the third quarter, with the U.S. comprising almost 75% of the world e-reader market. And although its dominance isn’t nearly as striking as Apple’s over the world of tablets, Amazon’s Kindle rules e-readers with a nearly 42% share of the market.

IDC predicts that tablet popularity will continue to grow as the fourth quarter figures (not yet published) will include a “blockbuster holiday season” for both Apple and Amazon. IDC says the new market should finish the fourth quarter (2010) with around 17 million units sold. Think that’s a lot? IDC is predicting 45 million ‘tablets’ will ship in 2011; 71 million in 2012. The numbers are growing exponentially because this year we’ll see a new iPad and also new Android-based tablets.

IDC is also predicting strong fourth quarter (2010) figures for e-readers and anticipated growth for 2011. They are forecasting about 15 million e-readers to ship in 2011 and 17 million in 2012. Not as good as tablets but still very good.

Stay tuned later today for Apple’s first quarter financial results today at 5pm EST.

[via ReadWriteWeb]