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Tablet demand growing faster than previously forecast

by Mark Tyson on 15 June 2012, 10:59

Tags: Apple iPad, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Windows 8

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A new report out yesterday by market analyst firm IDC contains increased forecast shipments of tablets this year and through to 2016. The forecast for tablet sales in 2012 has been increased from 106.1 million units to 107.4 million units. By 2016 tablet sales should reach 222.1 million units. The biggest impact on the increased numbers this year is due to the sales boost that originated in March with the launch of the new iPad 3.

IDC say the demand for tablets has been robust and more and more businesses are interested in acquiring tablets for their mobile workforce. “We expect pending new products from major players, increasingly affordable mainstream devices, and a huge marketing blitz from Microsoft around Windows 8 to drive increased consumer interest in the category through the end of the year.” said Tom Mainelli, a research director from IDC.

The change in market shares predicted for the current year are even more significant than the overall tablet sales increase. IDC forecasts the market share of iOS devices to grow strongly while Android tablet market share declines. “IDC now expects iOS to grow its share of the market in 2012 to 62.5%, up from 58.2% in 2011. Meanwhile Android's share will slip from 38.7% in 2011 to 36.5% in 2012”. Mr Mainelli added that “The addition of the Retina Display and 4G capabilities to the third-generation products clearly enticed many current owners to upgrade. And Apple's decision to keep two iPad 2s in the market at lower prices, moving the entry-level price down to $399, seems to be paying off as well. If Apple launches a sub-$300, 7-inch product into the market later this year as rumored, we expect the company’s grip on this market to become even stronger.”


Though Windows 8 tablets will launch in numbers and with a “huge marketing blitz” later in the year IDC says it has no numerical forecasts specifically for the new tablet platform. “We don't expect Windows-based tablets to necessarily take share from Apple and Android, but will grow the overall tablet market.” Tom Mainelli explained. While media tablets are going strong IDC has found the sales of eReaders is stagnant, this year there will be more or less the same figure sold as last year; 28 million units. It is thought that low priced tablets, and possibly phablets, are impacting upon eReader sales.



HEXUS Forums :: 13 Comments

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Hmm, can't say as I'm much impressed by this survey. First off, they seem to fall into the old trap of US=global, since - unless I'm very much mistaken - wasn't there that furore that Apple's “4G” doesn't work in most of Europe and Australia (and lord knows where else it's broken). In which case I can't really see the availability of a non-usable 4G radio being much of a draw.

Secondly, they've been forecasting a 7“ iPad for years - folks are still waiting.

Thirdly, anyone that expects Windows8-Tablet to significantly grow the tablet market as opposed to ”stealing“ market share from Android and iOS is not someone who's opinion I've much respect for.

Lastly, I'd love to know what the justification for iOS gaining market share from Android - unless the author thinks either Apple's going to sue itself bigger, or Google's going to screw up newer versions of Android. Heck, there's more and more official Android tablets going out there - plus talk of an official Google store to sell them. So I can't really see that being a negative for Android sales.

I could go on, but it's a waste of time to do so since, as I said at the top, this ”survey“ (sounds better than ”wet finger guess"), seems pretty poor quality.

I know, I'm in a grumpy mood today… :p
agree with most, but business will love win 8 tablets even more than ipads
3dcandy
agree with most, but business will love win 8 tablets even more than ipads
That's what I thought too - and I'm willing to bet that MS will make it very easy for corporate IT departments to control/admin those Win8 devices. Then you've got the pluses of the “standard” UI and application support.

So if this is the case, why would a business want iPads? Hence, Win8 tablets - if successful - will definitely take market share from iOS.
exactly…seems strange that the analysts don't get this point…
crossy
That's what I thought too - and I'm willing to bet that MS will make it very easy for corporate IT departments to control/admin those Win8 devices. Then you've got the pluses of the “standard” UI and application support.

So if this is the case, why would a business want iPads? Hence, Win8 tablets - if successful - will definitely take market share from iOS.

This is a key point.

At the moment I'd rather get a Macbook Air than an iPad. All the people I know with them use them for kitchen browsing and occasionally gaming. I don't like gaming without either a controller or a mouse, the sorts of games I enjoy are primarily designed for consoles or computers. As for browsing, my phone is perfectly adequate.

Android tablets suffer the same problems as phones; too much fragmentation, the slightly unfinished feel and a miserable app store. I've had my phone two years and I still can't sort by rating in the market.

The one thing they do excel at is reading pdfs like textbooks. I have a Kindle which I adore, but it's not good enough for technical work. However, the Kindle was £150 and does what it's meant to do perfectly.

Microsoft needs to play this very well, Metro is great, but late and poorly marketed. They will shoot themselves in the foot if, once again, they neglect non-US markets. The Zune HD is a fabulous PMP, miles better than the iPod, but poor marketing meant it did badly. Similarly Windows Phone is good, it's just poorly marketed. The general impression I get is that the people who buy these hidden products love them (the Zune has superb reviews and the Lumia 900 sold like hotcakes), but nobody knows about them.

Clearly they're betting everything on Windows 8, so it'll be interesting to see how this pans out.