Apple spent about 61% of its semiconductor budget in 2010 on wireless products such as the iPhone and iPad. In contrast, HP spent 82% of its semiconductor spending on computer products like desktops, notebooks and servers.

Ultimately, the NAND landscape appears to favor and tablets over computing-oriented products using a Windows/Intel platform, iSuppli indicated.

For example, the smartphone and tablet markets vastly outgrew the computer segment in 2010 compared to the previous year. Smartphone shipments in 2010 rose 62%, while tablets exploded by more than 900%, driven by the introduction of the first iPad. Global PC shipments grew by just 14.2% in 2010.

"Apple's strength in hardware sales lies in its device and media ecosystem -- very Apple product is connected through iTunes/iOS and is synergetic with all other Apple products," iSuppli said in its report. "As a result, committed users of the Apple ecosystem derive more value from each additional Apple device they buy, and users have little interest in leaving the Apple realm."

In other words, through a common ecosystem, Apple leverages each device to sell other devices.