Tablet shipment in India to close at 3 mn in 2012

Research firms predicted, the market is expected to increase by atleast 100% in 2013

The overall India Tablets market recorded sales of 1.1 million units in 3Q (July-September) 2012.   According to CyberMedia Research estimates, total shipments for the India Tablet PC market are expected to close at 3 million units in 2012.

The research firms predicted that the market is expected to increase by at least 100 per cent in 2013 (double the number of units sold in 2012).

The key drivers for this are a large number of launches by OEMs eyeing the India consumer market, as well as the demand expected to be generated via enterprise adoption of Tablets. CyberMedia Research also predictes that in case large deals are announced by vendors for supplies to the central or state governments for distribution to university, college and high school students, the forecast number of Tablet sales for 2013 could easily exceed 6 million units.

For the third quarter,   Samsung led with a 23.9 per cent share, followed by Micromax at second position with 15.3 per cent share and Datawind at third position with a 12.3 per cent share, in terms of sales during 3Q (July-September) 2012, according to the India Quarterly Media Tablets Market Review by research firm CyberMedia Research.

The report said that in a very short span of time the India Tablets market has become one of the key drivers of data and content consumption in the country. This is apparent from the fact that close to 135 vendors have launched their Tablets till 3Q 2012. The average sales value (ASV) of tablets in India during 3Q 2012 was approximately Rs 13,200, while 63.5 per cent of all sales were below the Rs 10,000-mark.

“A majority of the Tablets currently on offer have built-in Wi-Fi connectivity with 3G access enabled through a USB dongle. However, going forward, increased penetration of 3G networks, declining ASVs of 3G-enabled Media Tablets and launch of BWA (4G / WiMax / LTE) services in the country is likely to see a rise in 3G-only Tablet devices with larger screen sizes,” said Faisal Kawoosa, Lead Analyst, CyberMedia Research Telecoms Practice.

Tablet PC market outlook for 2013

The Tablet PC market is increasingly becoming one of the most dynamic consumer electronics product categories in India. Year-on-year the form factor has surprised the industry with the highly visible adoption, uptake and usage.

Some of the trends that CyberMedia has predicted include:

-- For the year 2013, CyberMedia Research expects, Windows 8 based Media Tablets will be the main highlight in the market. In 2013, India will witness Tablet PCs being made available on MS Windows 8 from all leading OEMs. This is expected to bring about several changes in market dynamics such as OS shares, ASVs etc.

-- Enterprises will see increasing adoption of Tablet PCs as part of the larger trend towards mobility.

-- At least a few OEMs are expected to announce LTE / LTE-ready Tablets for the India market in 2013.

-- There could be some cleansing in the market for sub-Rs 5,000 Tablets. 2013 is likely to see some of the players in this segment closing shop due to lack of market acceptability and increasing expectations of consumers, where these devices are bound to fail.

-- 2013 will see markets crystallise around three price points for the India Tablet PC market. These will be Rs 5,000-10,000; Rs 15,000-20,000 and over Rs 35,000.