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Battle for MEA tablet market share

Staff Writer
By Staff Writer, ITWeb
Johannesburg, 11 Sept 2014
Traditional PC vendors such as Lenovo, ASUS, Toshiba, HP and Acer are more aggressive in the tablet market.
Traditional PC vendors such as Lenovo, ASUS, Toshiba, HP and Acer are more aggressive in the tablet market.

The Middle East and Africa (MEA) tablet market recorded a 2% decline in shipments during the second quarter of 2014 to total 3.95 million units, according to the latest figures released by International Data Corporation (IDC).

However, the MEA market remains the world's fastest growing region for the devices, as it continues to be an area of focus for all vendors operating in the tablet space.

According to Victoria Mendes, a research analyst at IDC Middle East, Turkey and Africa, the quarter-on-quarter decline was due to an anticipated slowdown in the Middle East during the summer. "But there were also inventory pileups from the previous quarter in some parts of Africa and the Middle East, and these served to amplify the market's deceleration," she says.

The IDC says Samsung's 862 000 units sold in the quarter were more than enough for it to hold onto first place in the market, despite suffering a double-digit decline. Its closest rival, Apple, remained in second place after shipping 622 000 during the same period.

Lenovo had the third highest figures with 420 000 units, courtesy of a strong push from the vendor as it targeted the region with numerous new tablet launches. "Another vendor making great strides in the region is Asus, which climbed back to fourth place with a total of 284 000 units shipped in the quarter," the research firm said in a statement.

Meanwhile, General Mobile shipped 282 000 units, primarily the result of a large education project delivered by the vendor in Turkey.

Shifting battleground

Mendes adds the tablet market is witnessing a shift in terms of vendor shares as traditional PC players, such as Lenovo, ASUS, Toshiba, HP, and Acer, become more aggressive with product launches and pricing strategies.

"This is driving a considerable shift in consumer demand from low-cost Far-Eastern players to these tier two brands. Furthermore, the two tablet giants, Samsung and Apple, saw their combined share fall six percentage points to 37% in the second quarter - a trend that is expected to continue as consumers increasingly opt for the best of both worlds in terms of price and quality offered by the traditional PC vendors' new releases."

Fouad Charakla, research manager at IDC Middle East, Turkey and Africa, said increasing competition in the MEA tablet space is spurring a new approach from the market's two dominant forces. "With Samsung launching its 12.2-inch Galaxy Tab Pro this year and expectations of Apple launching a 12.9-inch iPad in 2015, it is clear that even these vendors are trying to expand their product ranges to include various sizes.

"This comes amid concerns that they may miss out on new opportunities by restricting themselves to smaller devices, and these bigger screen sizes may also prove to be a better platform for penetrating the commercial space."

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