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Cheaper tablets set the trend

Lauren Kate Rawlins
By Lauren Kate Rawlins, ITWeb digital and innovation contributor.
Johannesburg, 25 Aug 2015
IDC expects SA's tablet market to continue growing throughout 2015, spurred by strong demand for low-priced devices.
IDC expects SA's tablet market to continue growing throughout 2015, spurred by strong demand for low-priced devices.

A sales surge in low-priced tablets in South Africa is responsible for the strong year-on-year growth of 56% in the tablet market in Q2 2015, according to the latest figures from International Data Corporation (IDC).

Tablets priced below $150 (R1 965) accounted for 60% of the total market in Q2 2015, an increase of 7% from Q1.

IDC says the growing appetite for cheaper tablets is being spurred by the improving quality, design, and user experience of low-range devices.

"The stagnation of the higher-end segments of the market is having a negative impact on premium brands," says Joseph Hlongwane, a systems and infrastructure solutions analyst at IDC Africa.

"The disappointing performance of these premium brands is expected to continue due to the bleak economic conditions, but these same conditions represent a huge opportunity for vendors that manufacture tablets targeted at the lower end of the market."

IDC expects the South African tablet market to continue growing throughout 2015, spurred by strong demand for low-priced tablets.

"The increase in sales of cheaper tablets is probably a reflection of the desire to have affordable access to the benefits of such devices for all types of consumers. The acquisition of thousands of tablets for the Gauteng paperless schools project may be a contributing factor but many consumers find them a cheaper alternative to a smartphone," says Adrian Schofield, ICT expert.

"Tablets are big in the education market, but perhaps even bigger among executives who are constantly on the move or in and out of meetings," Arthur Goldstuck, MD of World Wide Worx, said previously.

"The excellent design work that has gone into [premium] tablets has tended to be their own worst enemy, in terms of ongoing sales. Once you have a tablet, there is little reason to get another one two or even three years later," he noted.

Earlier this month, IDC reported global tablet shipments totalled 44.7 million units in Q2 compared to 48 million during the same period last year, declining 7%.

"Marked by little hardware innovation and limited vendor portfolio updates, the market also declined -3.9% compared to the first quarter of 2015," says IDC.

"Longer lifecycles, increased competition from other categories such as larger smartphones, combined with the fact that end-users can install the latest operating systems on their older tablets, has stifled the initial enthusiasm for these devices in the consumer market," says Jitesh Ubrani, senior research analyst, worldwide mobile device trackers.

Tablets available in South Africa:

Make

Model

Price

Apple

iPad Air 2

R7 899

Samsung

Galaxy Tab 4 10.1

R6 999

Sony

Xperia Z4 Tablet

R9 130 (Orange)

Huawei

Mediapad 7-inch Youth 2

R2 096

LG

G Pad 8.0

R3 205 (Orange)

Lenovo

TAB 2 A7-30 + Voice

R1 899

Alcatel

OneTouch Pixi 7

R950 (Orange)

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