As of the March ending quarter, Apple, Inc.’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) share of the worldwide tablet market had dipped below 60 percent – still enough to ensure the company’s dominance, but a sign of the growing number of tablet computers competing with the iPad.

However, thanks to the new iPad’s sales, Apple’s stranglehold in the tablet industry became even tighter, as per market research firm IHS iSuppli’s latest survey.

According to the survey results, Apple sold a total of 17 million iPad 2s and new iPads in the second quarter of 2012. This was good for a share of 69.6 percent of over 24 million tablets sold around the world. Apple was the only manufacturer in double digits, as second-placer Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. sold 2.2 million tablets, good for a share of 9.2 percent.

The rest of the top five couldn’t even combine for a market share greater than Samsung’s. Amazon.com Inc. sold only 1 million Kindle Fires in the same time frame, or a 13 percent drop in sales quarter-on-quarter. This redounded to a market share of 4.2 percent.

Asustek Computer Inc. (2357:TT) had a 2.8 percent share, or 688 million tablets, while fifth-place Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NASDAQ:BKS) took up a 1.9 market share, equivalent to 459 million tablets. All other tablet manufacturers combined for a 12.3 percent share.

Analysts are expecting Apple’s share to grow even larger moving forward, mostly due to the expected release of a 7-inch version of the iPad, tentatively known as the iPad mini.