Shipments of tablet PCs by computer makers Acer Inc (宏碁) and Asustek Computer Inc (華碩) increased in the third quarter thanks to higher demand for low-cost Android models, the tech-tracking firm International Data Corp (IDC) said yesterday.
Asustek shipped 3.5 million tablets in the July-to-September period, up 53.9 percent year-on-year. That put it in third place globally with a market share of 7.4 percent, IDC said in a report.
Acer remained the fifth-largest tablet vendor globally with a 2.5 percent market share, shipping 1.2 million units in the third quarter, an increase of 346.3 percent from 300,000 units in the same period last year.
Apple Inc remained the top global vendor with shipments of 14.1 million units, but its market share slid to a record low of 29.6 percent, and Samsung Electronics Co was in second place with shipments of 9.7 million units and a 20.4 percent share of the worldwide market. China’s Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想) ranked fourth, recording shipments of 2.3 million units and a 4.8 percent share.
IDC said global tablet shipments grew to 47.6 million units in the third quarter, representing 7 percent quarterly growth and a 36.7 percent annual increase.
Private-label “white-box” tablets continue to constitute a fairly large percentage of the Android devices shipped into the market, said Tom Mainelli, research director of tablets at IDC.
“These low-cost Android-based products make tablets available to a wider market of consumers, which is good,” Mainelli said.
IDC forecast that Apple will enjoy robust shipment growth in the fourth quarter, as the new iPad Air will start shipping today.
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