Tablet shipments in July-Sep quarter touch 1.2 mn units

Top 5 vendors account for 58.7% of the Indian Tablet market; Samsung leads the market

India overall Tablet shipments touched 1.20 million unit in the July-September quarter of 2013, registering a growth of 9 per cent on a year-on-year basis, and a modest 4.7 per cent sequential growth.

These 1.20 million Tablets were sold by 43 domestic and international vendors. However, only thirteen vendors shipped in significant volumes of more than 20,000 units during the period, said the CMR India’s Quarterly Tablet PC Market Review for Q3.

The analyst firms said that the quarterly numbers were impacted due to limited offerings from vendors battling BIS certification guidelines.

“Like the consumer segment, Android OS-based Tablets dominate the India Enterprise Tablet PC space as well. But with more vendors committing to Windows OS-based Tablets, the interest levels amongst customers are showing increasing trend. In a couple of quarters we expect Windows OS-based Tablets gaining significant traction within the India Enterprise segment,” said Faisal Kawoosa, Lead Analyst, CMR Telecoms Practice.

From this quarter onwards, CMR will be reporting the Tablet performance for the enterprise space too.

As per the estimates for 3Q CY 2013, enterprises consumed around 20% of total Tablet PC shipments for during the period July-September 2013.

“There is no clear leading industry vertical where the adoption has been distinctly higher than others. But going forward, BFSI, Pharmaceuticals and Retail are a few segments that are expected to take the lead.  Some interesting developments are taking place in these sectors on the Tablet PC as a platform. However, solutions-oriented ODMs are most likely to rule the roost”, Faisal added.

In terms of market share, Samsung leads the market, with Lenovo and Datawind coming in at number two and three spot respectively. Top five vendors account for 58.7 per cent of all Tablet shipments.

According to the report Lenovo figured for the first time in the top three list. “We have seen quite a few vendors exiting the Tablet category altogether, or launching their offerings in the Enterprise Tablets space. Key reasons for this are low profitability in the entry-level Tablets market vis-à-vis a more promising future for growth of the Enterprise Tablets market,” said Tarun Pathak, Analyst, CMR Telecoms Practice.

CMR expects the Tablet market to pick-up by the end of the year, as vendors will be through with the BIS certification. The analyst firm also expects consolidation in this segment.

Market share
Vendor	Share (%)
Samsung	15
Lenovo	13.3
Datawind*	12.4
Top 3 vendors	40.7
Top 5 vendors	58.7

*excludes shipment of Aakash Tablet PCs supplied for government projects