Asustek Computer Inc (華碩) remained the world’s third-largest tablet maker in the third quarter of this year, followed closely by China’s Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想), according to data from research firm Strategy Analytics.
Global tablet shipments reached 55.2 million units in the three-month period ending in September, up 5 percent from the previous quarter and up 6 percent from a year earlier, Strategy Analytics said in a research report on Thursday last week.
Although they are still some distance behind market leaders Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co, both Lenovo and Asustek are demonstrating that innovations are providing “sufficient product differentiation to drive shipments,” it said.
The Taiwanese firm shipped 3.1 million tablets in the third quarter for a 5.6 percent market share, followed by Lenovo in fourth place with 3 million units and a 5.4 percent market share.
Top player Apple had a 22.3 percent market share, but its shipments of 12.3 million units declined 13 percent annually and 7 percent sequentially, with fewer consumers in the developed countries feeling the need to upgrade to the latest products that offer only minor changes, Strategy Analytics said.
Samsung, in second place, shipped 9.7 million tablets for a 17.6 percent share, while Taiwan-based Acer Inc (宏碁) stayed in fifth with 1.3 million units and a 2.3 percent share of the global market.
In terms of operating systems, Google Inc’s Android further consolidated its global market share, reaching an all-time high of 72 percent share of the tablet market, Strategy Analytics said.
Apple’s iOS ranked second with a 22.3 percent market share, while Microsoft Corp’s Windows reached its highest market share of 5.7 percent as more Windows models became available, including the Microsoft Surface Pro 3.
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