Figures released on Thursday by International Data Corp (IDC) showed that the global tablet market continued to slump last quarter.
Shipments of tablets and “two-in-one” devices that combine tablet and laptop features sank to 47.1 million in a drop of nearly 6 percent from the first three months of last year, according to the market tracker.
“Although the tablet market is in decline, two-in-ones are certainly a bright spot,” IDC senior research analyst Jitesh Ubrani said. “While two-in-one, or detachables, still account for a small portion of the overall market, growth in this space has been stunning.”
The analyst said that companies such as Asustek Computer Inc (華碩), Acer Inc (宏碁) and E-FUN Inc have scored with value-priced two-in-one devices, while Microsoft Corp has seen success at the high end of the market with the Surface Pro 3.
Sales of Apple Inc’s iPads have suffered from buyers preferring iPhones or Mac laptop computers, according to IDC.
Apple shipped 12.6 million iPads in the quarter, compared with 16.4 million in the same period a year earlier, the market-tracker reported.
IDC said it expects iPad sales to continue to shrink until an innovative new model, perhaps with a larger screen, is introduced.
Chinese computer titan Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想) was one of the few tablet makers seeing growth in the declining overall market thanks to a diverse product line and low-price offerings, IDC said.
Lenovo shipped 2.5 million tablets in the quarter compared with 2 million shipped during the first three months of last year, IDC reported.
The Chinese company is to introduce a new tablet to be sold at Wal-Mart Stores Inc, as it seeks to double its market share in North America.
The tablet expands the company’s existing product line, Lenovo North America president Aymar de Lencquesaing said on Thursday in an interview.
He declined to specify pricing, but said it would be less than an iPad.
“I look at market penetration in the US and we have a lot of room to grow,” he said.
Lenovo, the world’s largest maker of personal computers, already sells its products through Walmart.com, and the tablet is a way to enter stores and reach customers more directly, Lencquesaing said.
It also presents an opportunity as consumers increasingly view tablets as addition to computers rather than a replacement, he said.
Seeking to build its name recognition for the product, the Chinese company is also increasing social media engagement and marketing efforts, Lencquesaing said.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
Intel Corp chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan (陳立武) is expected to meet with Taiwanese suppliers next month in conjunction with the opening of the Computex Taipei trade show, supply chain sources said on Monday. The visit, the first for Tan to Taiwan since assuming his new post last month, would be aimed at enhancing Intel’s ties with suppliers in Taiwan as he attempts to help turn around the struggling US chipmaker, the sources said. Tan is to hold a banquet to celebrate Intel’s 40-year presence in Taiwan before Computex opens on May 20 and invite dozens of Taiwanese suppliers to exchange views
Application-specific integrated circuit designer Faraday Technology Corp (智原) yesterday said that although revenue this quarter would decline 30 percent from last quarter, it retained its full-year forecast of revenue growth of 100 percent. The company attributed the quarterly drop to a slowdown in customers’ production of chips using Faraday’s advanced packaging technology. The company is still confident about its revenue growth this year, given its strong “design-win” — or the projects it won to help customers design their chips, Faraday president Steve Wang (王國雍) told an online earnings conference. “The design-win this year is better than we expected. We believe we will win
Chizuko Kimura has become the first female sushi chef in the world to win a Michelin star, fulfilling a promise she made to her dying husband to continue his legacy. The 54-year-old Japanese chef regained the Michelin star her late husband, Shunei Kimura, won three years ago for their Sushi Shunei restaurant in Paris. For Shunei Kimura, the star was a dream come true. However, the joy was short-lived. He died from cancer just three months later in June 2022. He was 65. The following year, the restaurant in the heart of Montmartre lost its star rating. Chizuko Kimura insisted that the new star is still down
While China’s leaders use their economic and political might to fight US President Donald Trump’s trade war “to the end,” its army of social media soldiers are embarking on a more humorous campaign online. Trump’s tariff blitz has seen Washington and Beijing impose eye-watering duties on imports from the other, fanning a standoff between the economic superpowers that has sparked global recession fears and sent markets into a tailspin. Trump says his policy is a response to years of being “ripped off” by other countries and aims to bring manufacturing to the US, forcing companies to employ US workers. However, China’s online warriors
RSS