In the past year – and especially the last few weeks – we’ve seen tablet mania. Consumers are highly interested in the growing mobile segment, and the market is experiencing an influx of options. Here we’ll take a look at the tablet market, consumer perceptions and why Apple is sitting pretty.
The Rise of the Tablet
One year ago, Apple started a revolution with the introduction of the iPad. And the space has done nothing but grow since. In 2010, an estimated 18 million tablets were shipped. In the fourth quarter alone, an estimated 10.1 million devices were shipped, more than doubling the estimated 4.5 million tablets that were shipped just one quarter before. To say that there has been swift adoption is an understatement. But this is just the beginning – the vice president of Consumer Device Trackers stated, “media tablets are on pace to reach shipments of roughly 50 million units in 2011.” And a February study revealed that 27% of respondents planned to buy a tablet in the future – rising 2 points from last November – with 5% planning a purchase in the next 90 days. Not bad for one year in the market.
Consumers Like Their Tablets…A Lot
Consumers have shown strong satisfaction with their tablets. A study from December 2010 showed that two thirds of tablet owners are very satisfied with the email and Internet browsing experience and 60% are very satisfied with the social experience. While it seems intuitive that a tablet web experience would be more satisfying than a smartphone web experience, what’s more interesting is that three of 10 users claimed they were doing these activities less on their PC now that they have a tablet.
The Apple Advantage
While Apple has a stronghold on tablet market share, competitors are scrambling to get a piece of the mobile pie. But do they have a chance? Competitors like Samsung Galaxy and Motorola Xoom are perceived as the strongest alternative, but they’ve struggled to get their foot in the door.
Apple has a few things going for itself:
1. Apple enjoyed first mover advantage. In the first 80 days in market, the iPad sold over 3 million units and by the end of 2010, the iPad had an estimated 83% of tablet market share.
2. Apple now enjoys second-generation advantage. Before others are even making it to the gate, Apple has designed, produced, launched and sold scores of iPad 2s – one million devices had been purchased just 28 days after launch.
3. Pricing is becoming a strong suit for Apple. Say what? The premium brand, which isn’t typically known for being competitively priced, is beating prices of newcomers like the Samsung Galaxy and Motorola Xoom.
4. Apple has a robust application offering. With its App Store launching in 2008 and thousands of tablet apps readily available, Apple has built an application advantage to be reckoned with.
Even with the onslaught on tablet devices hitting the market, industry professionals have estimated Apple maintaining 70%-80% of market share because of its enhanced product offering and competitive pricing. We’ll have to wait and see how the competition rounds out, but if the graph below tells us anything, this whole tablet thing belongs to Apple.
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