One in eight people globally will own a tablet by 2017, according to a recent forecast done by Forrester.
That translates to an installed base of 905 million by 2017, compared to just 15 million in 2010, showing that tablets have hit "hyper-growth" says the firm.
By 2017, 60% of online consumers in North America will own a tablet, and 42% of online consumers in Europe will own one, notes the report. However, penetration rates in the developing world are expected to not even reach 25% in aggregate by that date.
Enterprise adoption of the tablet is expected to pick up significantly in coming years, with 18% of tablet sales to come from businesses, says Forrester. "In the next few years, employees will be willing to pay some or all of the cost [of a work device]. In addition to company-issued [and bring-your-own tablets], a third model is emerging in which workers themselves are willing to foot part of the cost of a tablet to get the specific device of their choice."
Vertical scenarios will emerge, says Forrester. "In healthcare, for instance, the hyper-portability of tablets empowers doctors and nurses to use them for patient-facing scenarios like showing X-ray results, as well as for treatment-related scenarios." Tablets will move beyond executives and travelling salespeople to other roles lower in the hierarchy in coming years, states the report.
Joseph Hlongwane, researcher at IDC, says the same growth in tablet sales can be expected locally. "SA is not immune to what is happening in the rest of the world. SA is partly developed and partly not, and the portion of people who have the means to buy tablets will increasingly do so leading up to 2017," he says.
Hlongwane notes tablet growth locally is expected to be less attributed to Apple sales and increasingly by other vendors.
"The decrease expected in Apple sales is purely because of price. We see Android getting more advanced and cheaper compared to Apple. Looking at the current situation [in SA] as far as economic pressures are concerned, people will definitely lean more and more towards Android tablets because they are just cheaper."
He also notes a lot of the growth will be attributed to the education sector, which is increasingly focusing on using tablets in the classroom both in private and public schooling.
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