Android tablets captured 84% of the total CEE tablet market in the second quarter of 2013, accounting for over three million shipments. The share of iOS-based devices decreased by 9.2pp on year, while shipments of Windows and Windows RT devices increased sharply on year, although this was largely due to a low base in the previous quarter, which still gave these devices less than 3% of the tablet market in the second quarter of 2013. The CEE market saw a strong uptake of Linux devices, driven by white-box vendors in Russia and Ukraine. Linux tablets priced less than US$80 were very appealing to consumers despite their limited functionality.
"Price matters in the CEE region. A large variety of tablets with low prices, especially Android, drove sales in the price-sensitive consumer segment," said Nikolina Jurisic, a program manager with IDC CEMA. "This trend is expected to continue as the competition in the low end of the market intensifies, with new second-tier vendors entering the market and forcing international vendors to further reduce prices."
The growth seen in the second quarter of 2013 shows no sign of slowing. By the end of 2013, the tablet market is expected to reach a total volume of nearly 15 million units shipped, reflecting growth of 105% compared to 2012. The CEE tablet market is expected to post a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 28.6% over the five-year forecast period to reach 25.6 million shipments by 2017.
"The PC and tablet markets are going through a major transition, with tablets making a greater claim on consumers' IT budgets," said Jurisic. "Tablet shipments are driven by low price tags, portability, ease of use, and the increasing popularity of social media applications. As a result, tablets are expected to surpass portable PCs in volume terms in the last quarter of 2013."
Android-based tablet devices are expected to maintain a dominant market position until the end of the forecast period. Windows OS tablets are forecast to gain traction, accounting for 9.2% market share in 2017, whereas Windows RT will reach only 1% share, as vendors are pushing Windows 8 and Android models. iOS tablets will account for around 13% of the total market by the end of 2017.
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IDC: CEE tablet, portable PC and desktop shipments, 2011-2014 (k units) |
||||
|
Year |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
|
Desktop |
9,336 |
8,596 |
7,545 |
6,972 |
|
Portable PC |
16,247 |
18,230 |
14,563 |
15,157 |
|
Tablet |
3,519 |
10,066 |
16,935 |
20,553 |
Source: IDC, compiled by Digitimes, September 2013