Thursday, September 12, 2013

Tablet Sales to Eclipse PCs by 2015

International Data Corporation expects tablet shipments to surpass total PC shipments (desktop plus portable PCs) in the fourth quarter of 2013.


PCs shipments are still expected to be greater than tablet shipments for the full year, but IDC forecasts tablet shipments will surpass total PC shipments on an annual basis by the end of 2015.


Smart phones will continue to ship in high volumes, surpassing 1.4 billion units in 2015 and accounting for 69% of all smart connected device shipments worldwide.


"At a time when the smart phone and tablet markets are showing early signs of saturation, the emergence of lower-priced devices will be a game-changer," said Megha Saini, IDC research analyst. Presumably Saini is referring to some developed markets, as demand is far from reaching saturation in most of the world’s markets.


"Introducing new handsets and tablet devices at cheaper price points along with special initiatives like trade-in programs from Apple and Best Buy will accelerate the upgrade cycle and expand the total addressable market overnight."


As always, price plays a huge role in adoption. IDC expects the lower-cost devices to drive interest globally.

IDC also expects to see more product substitution as larger-screen smart phones with five-inch or larger screens (phablets) start to compete with the smaller-screen tablets with screens of seven to eight inch screens.


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