Acer tablet sales beat expectations

Iconia enjoys first-month Western European channel sales of more than 20,000, Context figures reveal

Despite a mixed reaction from critics, the Acer Iconia tablet appears to be going down well with Western European consumers, with early channel sales figures exceeding expectations.

Numbers from market watcher Context find that, during May - the first full month following the Iconia's release - more than 20,000 units were sold to end users, having been shipped through distributors across the region. This does not include sales through large high street and online retailers who source product direct.

About 70 per cent of Iconia units shifted through distribution are of the consumer-targeted A500 model, with the more business-focused W500 (pictured) chipping in 30 per cent.

The Context distribution panel records channel sell-out figures for Denmark, Finland, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Norway, Spain and the UK. Salman Chaudhry, product manager for mobile computing at the analyst, told ChannelWeb the Iconia's early sales figures were better than he had expected.

"We are seeing some pretty healthy numbers," he added.

Background lowdown
The Acer Iconia A500 and W500 models were released into the UK market in April, and cost about £430 and £400 for a 32GB model respectively. The vendor has made no secret of its bullish plans to take the lead in the tablet arena. Acer recently claimed that, a month or so after the Iconia's release, it had taken a 20 per cent revenue share of the market.