Indian tablet market breaches 1 mn per quarter mark

Overall shipments record a growth of 107.4% YoY, but a more moderate increase of 27.2% QoQ; Samsung leads the market, with Datawind and Micromax coming in at #2 and #3, respectively

 
 According to CMR's India Quarterly Tablet PC Market Review, 2Q (April-June) 2013, August 2013 release announced today, over 1,150,000 Tablets were sold (shipped) in the quarter by as many as 70 domestic and international vendors. However, only thirteen vendors shipped in significant volumes of more than 20,000 units during the period. The overall growth in shipments of Tablets in the India market registered an 107.4 % year-on-year (2Q CY 2013 over 2Q CY 2012) growth, but a more moderate 27.2% quarter-on-quarter (2Q CY 2013 over 1Q CY 2013) increase due to seasonal factors.

Commenting on the results, Faisal Kawoosa, Lead Analyst, CMR Telecoms Practice stated, "For a few quarters now, we have seen over a million shipments per quarter of Tablets with only 1Q 2013 being the exception. 2Q 2013 results have again shown that 1 million units a quarter is a sustainable number, which is a healthy indicator about adoption of the Tablet form factor in India in less than three years. If this trend continues to build up, I see adoption picking up and just a few quarters from now we should see shipment of significantly higher volumes."

 

Data Consumption, 3G Tablets and the Indian Consumer

Almost 80% of the Tablet models launched during this period were with both 3G and Wi-Fi connectivity, leading to a growth of 103% in shipments of 3G Tablets.
Commenting on the results Tarun Pathak, Analyst, CMR Telecoms Practice said, "This is the first quarter when Tablets with dual-SIM functionality arrived in the India market, thereby giving vendors an additional specification to differentiate their offerings. An important factor for increase in 3G-enabled Tablet shipments is the growing data consumption amongst telecom subscribers to access social media networks and IM accounts, play online games, keep up with corporate and personal mail or simply browse the web for information on the go."
"It will be interesting to see if there are any significant shifts in Tablet shipments in the forthcoming quarters. With the requirement for mandatory adherence to BIS certification it will be difficult for vendors who do not get their products BIS-approved to sell in India. This may lead to some consolidation in the India Tablets market in the short- to medium-term," Tarun concluded.