Samsung Electronics Co.’s share of the tablet computer market more than doubled in the fourth quarter, gaining on market leader Apple as total unit shipments jumped 75 percent, researcher IDC said Thursday.

Worldwide tablet sales surged to 52.5 million units in the period, IDC reported.

Samsung’s market share jumped to 15 percent from 7.3 percent in the year-earlier period, while its shipments more than tripled.

While Apple’s iPad remains No. 1 in the market, its share dropped to 44 percent from 52 percent. Amazon.com was in third place with 12 percent of shipments, IDC said, followed by Asustek Computer Inc. and Barnes & Noble Inc.

“We expected a very strong fourth quarter, and the market didn’t disappoint,” said Tom Mainelli, research director for tablets, at IDC. “New product launches from the category’s top vendors, as well as new entrant Microsoft, led to a surge in consumer interest and very robust shipments totals during the holiday season. The record-breaking quarter stands in stark contrast to the PC market, which saw shipments decline during the quarter for the first time in more than five years.”

Microsoft did not make the top five, shipping some 900,000 Surface tablets. 

Microsoft entered the market during the quarter with its Surface with Windows RT tablet, but failed to reach the top five after shipping just shy of 900,000 units into the channel.

“There is no question that Microsoft is in this tablet race to compete for the long haul. However, devices based upon its new Windows 8 and Windows RT operating systems failed to gain much ground during their launch quarter, and reaction to the company’s Surface with Windows RT tablet was muted at best,” said Ryan Reith, program manager for Mobile Device Trackers at IDC. “We believe that Microsoft and its partners need to quickly adjust to the market realities of smaller screens and lower prices. In the long run, consumers may grow to believe that high-end computing tablets with desktop operating systems are worth a higher premium than other tablets, but until then ASPs on Windows 8 and Windows RT devices need to come down to drive higher volumes.”

Increased holiday spending on tablets, new products and lower average prices all contributed to the surge in the tablet market, IDC said. Apple faced stronger competition from Samsung tablets based on Google Inc.’s Android software and Microsoft Corp.’s Windows 8, though it held the top spot as sales benefited from the introduction of the iPad mini and a fourth- generation device, the researcher said.

Apple Loses Bid for Rehearing in Effort to Block Samsung Nexus

In other news Thursday, Apple failed to persuade a U.S. appeals court to review its decision that lets Samsung Electronics Co. continue selling its Galaxy Nexus phone while a patent-infringement case is pending.

An October decision that said Apple needed to show that its search feature was a key reason consumers bought the smartphone will stand, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit said in an order posted on its electronic docket.

(Bloomberg news contributed to this report.)