More than 3 million tablets were sold in
2012 with more than 1 million shipped in the last quarter of the year,
reveals the latest report by Cyber Media Research (CMR). Android
dominated as the top operating system following by iOS and Windows.
Moreover, Micromax and Samsung emerge as the top vendors in India, says
the CMR report.
To be precise, as many as 3.11 million
units were sold in 2012, while 1.09 million units were sold in the
October-December 2012 period, which accounted for 35.33 percent of the
total shipments for the entire year.
“The year 2012 and particularly the last
two quarters (3Q 2012 and 4Q 2012) were significant for the India
Tablets market. We have seen the market for these devices grow
substantially in 2012, particularly in the second half which made up for
over 70% of the total sales,” says Faisal Kawoosa, Lead Telecoms
Analyst, CMR.
Emergence of Phablets
The Cyber Media research also points out
the emergence of the 'Phablet' segment. According to the report,
phablets constituted around 16.5 percent of the total sales and this
trend is expected to strengthen in the coming quarters. Moreover, the
user profiles, market dynamics and the product orientation of ‘phablets’
are very different from that of tablets. In the light of these trends,
CMR has decided to reclassify the Tablets market into two separate
segments – Phablets and Tablets – starting CY 2013.
Commenting on this decision, Kawoosa
stated, “At CMR we used to consider Tablet as a device with screen size
of 5-inch or larger. But, with the definite emergence of ‘Phablets’ as a
sustainable form factor in its own right, we will now consider only
devices of 7-inch screen size and above as Tablets for the purpose of
market analysis. Other parameters of the CMR definition of Tablet
devices will remain unchanged. Moreover, we will continue to track and
report ‘Phablets’ as a separate category of mobile device in the hands
of individual consumers and enterprise users.”
Micromax, Samsung dominate the tablet market
According to the report, the Indian
manufacturer Micromax emerged the top vendor for the 'tablets with
7-inch screen and above screen-size'. Apple and Samsung stood at the
second and third position respectively, in 2012
For the fourth quarter of 2012, Micromax, Karbonn and DataWind emerged as the top three tablet vendors in India.
“Samsung has been able to maintain the
lead in the market only because of the first-mover advantage with the
Galaxy Note and the Galaxy Note II. But this is not a sustainable
strategy in the long term, as it has resulted in creation of the new
‘Phablet’ form factor, attracting competitors at both ends of the price
spectrum to follow suit. With the entrance of Apple at the top end and
multiple Chinese and Indian players at the entry-level, the Phablet
segment is only going to see increased competition in the foreseeable
future,” says Tarun Pathak, Telecoms Analyst, CMR.
“This is also proved if we look at the
same market with the new perspective of ‘Phablets’ being a separate and
distinct category, based on the revised CMR definition for Tablets
starting CY 2013. The market rankings for CY 2012 and change altogether
with Samsung witnessing a major change in its standing. So if Samsung
has to be a strong brand in the Tablet market, it has to adopt a long
term sustainable strategy along with nurturing the ‘Phablets’”,
concluded Tarun.
Check out the complete CMR study here.
