Tablets ease netbook pain

Context figures highlight the growing importance of the iPad to European distributors

After a massive pre-Christmas sales spike, tablets were the king of the small form factor jungle in December, with netbook sales through European distributors on the wane.

Figures from market-watcher Context reveal that the seven days before Christmas saw a 68.7 per cent week-on-week increase in the number of tablets being sold through distribution in Europe. The miniature devices accounted for some 5.6 per cent of total PCs shipped and 5.8 per cent of revenues.

Apple's iPad was by far and away the most popular model, accounting for more than four in every five tablets sold. The device posted a week-on-week sales surge of 71.2 per cent in the lead-up to Christmas. Across the whole of December, unit shipments rose 4.8 per cent on the previous month.

Netbooks fared less well last month, with distribution unit sales across the continent falling 17.5 per cent on 2009. Context chief executive Jeremy Davies (pictured) predicted that tablets would become an even more important part of distributors' portfolio in the coming months.

"Tablet PCs have become an important part of European distributors' line-up," he said. "From virtually nothing at the start of the second half of the year, tablet PC revenues are now an average of only 1.6 points behind server revenues. With new tablet PCs reaching the market, we expect revenue share to reach low double digits during the first half of 2011."