Canalys: Tablets continue to boom

First-quarter 2012 global shipments more than tripled, with Apple in pole position and Amazon coming a surprise second

Global tablet shipments more than tripled in the first quarter of 2012, research house Canalys has claimed.

In total for the quarter, vendors shipped 20.3 million tablets, or "pads" as the analyst refers to them, representing 19 per cent of all client PC shipments in the quarter. This is compared with a year ago when tablets accounted for seven per cent of PC shipments.

However, adoption rates vary by region, shaped in part by different economic conditions and the effect on consumer spending.

North America remained the largest region by shipment volume, Canalys revealed – accounting for almost half the global total, and tablets represented 36 per cent of PCs shipped in the region. Asia-Pacific was the second largest, growing 232 per cent year on year to exceed five million units.

EMEA was classed as "lagging behind" with shipments of 4.7 million in Q1 and year-on-year growth of 180 per cent.

Tim Coulling, analyst at Canalys, said: “The challenging economic conditions in Europe are affecting the market. The austerity measures taken by governments to address public debt are resulting in low economic growth rates, limited job creation and pressure on disposable income at a time when households are also dealing with rising living costs.

"Contrast this with booming economies in the Asia-Pacific region and the rapid rise in middle-income households, particularly in China. These present vendors with the greatest opportunities for growth.”

Overall, four of the 10 largest markets for tablets are in the Asia-Pacific region, Canalys explained. In addition to its growing economies, government-led school projects to give students pads to replace textbooks in India, and similar planned initiatives in South Korea and Thailand, will continue contributing to growth in the region.

Coulling added: "There are more than 750 million people in Europe. The population is twice the size of the US, but there are only half as many pads shipped. Content availability is a key driver for pads. After TVs themselves, pads are now the most popular device for watching TV content. US users can choose from many content aggregation services, such as those offered by Netflix, Hulu, Xfinity, Apple, Google and Amazon. Having to negotiate digital rights across multiple countries, combined with the variety of languages and cultures, make it complicated and more costly to deliver similar services consistently across Europe."

Apple continues to dominate the market, Canalys claimed, although its market share stood at 58 per cent for the quarter, down from 74 per cent a year ago.

Michael Kauh, research analyst at Canalys, added: “During the quarter Apple launched the new iPad and lowered the price of the iPad 2. This boosted shipments after a record Q4 and increased pressure on competitors who are fighting on price. It also makes them more accessible to the education sector. Apple’s performance in the Asia-Pacific region is of particular note, with shipments growing 252 per cent even though the new iPad shipped earlier in North America and Europe.’

Canalys placed Amazon in second place with 10 per cent share, although all its shipments were in North America.

“Amazon’s rise in the pad space is testament to the need for a compelling content proposition. You cannot succeed by focusing on device specifications alone,” Kauh added.

Samsung achieved third billing for the quarter, but Canalys said that given the size of its portfolio, it was "underperforming". Asus fell into fourth place, followed by Lenovo, RIM and Acer.