Just in case you weren't completely convinced of Apple's dominance in the world of tablets, the iPad has managed to beat out Galaxy Tab sales in Korea, which is Samsung's home turf. 1 million iPads have been sold in the region since November 2010, claiming 70 - 80% of the overall Korean tablet market. Meanwhile, electronics reseller Gazelle is reporting that Amazon's Kindle devices deprecate in value about 22% in faster than the iPad. It's a little unfair to compare the iPad to simple e-book readers; the real test for the Kindle brand will be how well the Amazon Kindle Fire will fare in the long haul.
It's still too early to see how well the Kindle Fire will do in the reseller market, but it's hard to imagine the thing going for much cheaper than the $200 it retails for. Gazelle's CEO explains that frequent price drops and releases of multiple models helps to accelerate reduced prices on Android devices. The iPhone, by contrast, is still worth 60% of its value after being available for a year, while top-of-the-line Android handsets are only worth 40% of their original price.
For all of the squabbling that Samsung and Apple do around the world, beating a manufacturer in their own country is a huge symbolic victory. Of course, Samsung still has a gigantic lead in a number of other industries, such as television, but even that might not last if Apple decides to make an iTV. During the iPad 2 launch in the spring Korean retailers quickly sold out, even though about two-thirds of the models being sold were Wi-Fi-only. Even as a homegrown company, I have trouble imagining Samsung building up that much excitement around their next tablet.
As for the resale value, that's good news for those who frequently upgrade, but not so great for those getting into the game initially. The folks at Gazelle warned that it's often not worth paying an extra $100 or $200 for extra storage capacity, if your main concern is selling the device later on. It sure would be nice if we could get a microSD memory card slot on these things, then memory denominations would be significantly less of an issue.
In any case, are any original iPad owners out there thinking of upgrading soon, or does this news of stable resale value keep you happy with your purchase?
Source: AppleInsider, CNN
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