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Indian tablet makers have shipped in over nine lakh tablet computers during the first quarter (January-March) this year. Datawind, maker of Aakash tablets, led the market with 15.3 per cent share.
Micromax and Apple had 12.3 per cent 11.7 per cent market share, respectively.
According to CyberMedia Research’s (CMR) India Quarterly Tablet PC Market Review, as many as 53 domestic and international vendors shipped in tablets during the period.
It said the overall growth in shipments of tablets registered 159 per cent year-on-year growth (as compared to first quarter of 2012), but declined by 17.57 per cent on quarter-on-quarter basis (as compared to fourth quarter of 2012) due to seasonal factors.
“Although the first quarter tablet shipment numbers are marginally lower as compared to fourth quarter of 2012, the country continued to witness tablet shipments of more than 10,000 units a day during the quarter, which is a reason to cheer,” Faisal Kawoosa, Lead Analyst - Telecoms Practice, CMR, said.
He said the performance of the India tablets market is in line with global trends, where shipments of traditional computing devices such as desktop PCs and notebook PCs are seeing a relative deceleration, whereas tablet shipments witness a surge, driven by consumer demand.
The continued long-term growth in shipments of tablets in the Indian market further points to the fact that a large proportion of first time users of computers in emerging markets such as India are getting to experience computing through this portable, converged form factor, he added.
“Datawind and Micromax have figured amongst the top 3 India tablet vendors since fourth quarter 2012, while Apple was No. 2 in calendar 2012. These players continued to maintain their leadership ranks during first quarter of 2013,” Tarun Pathak, Analyst - Telecoms Practice at CMR, said.
This trend points to a sort of polarisation of India tablet user segments – one set looks primarily for performance and best-in-class build quality, and typically opts for the high-end Apple iPad and the other segment looks for a wide range of features at an affordable price point and opts for brands such as Datawind and Micromax, he said.
ronendrasingh.s@thehindu.co.in
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