Tablet PCs stole the show in 2011

If 2010 was the year of dual SIM mobile phones in India, it was the ‘tablet PC’ that walked away with the title of being the most sought after device in 2011, and technology giants Apple, Samsung and Research in Motion rushed to grab a share of the booming market.

Over the last few years, about a billion mobile phones were being sold annually, but it was the tablet that brought excitement to the world’s second largest telecom market this year.

Be it the high-end tablet PCs like iPad, PlayBook and Galaxy Tab or the world’s cheapest tablet Aakash, each one created a ripple in the market. And today, there are tablets in various sizes available in the market at different price points.

According to Frost & Sullivan, Indians are estimated to have bought 300,000 units of tablets in 2011 compared to sales of about 60,000 tablet PCs in 2010.

The year started with a bang as Apple’s iPad finally hit the Indian shores. Though the device was priced higher (between Rs 27,900 and Rs 44,900) than that in markets like the US, it was lapped up by Apple enthusiasts in the country.

Another major launch by Apple was that of the iPhone 4S. Though almost identical to its predecessor in looks, iPhone 4S has an artificial intelligence based assistant called Siri.