The iPad's share of the tablet market shrank from 87% in 2010 to 62% in 2011, but after tallying up shipment data from late last year, iSuppli found that, though Amazon's Kindle Fire is the top tablet behind the iPad, it's not what's taking the biggest chunk out of the iOS tablet's market share. Apparently, the iPhone 4S is to blame.
iSuppli's senior manager for tablet research said of their research results:
"Shipments of the iPad line fell short of IHS estimates in the fourth quarter as many loyal Apple customers devoted their dollars to shiny new alternatives. However, the primary alternative wasn’t the Kindle Fire — which debuted to solid sales in the fourth quarter — but Apple’s own iPhone 4S smartphone. The rollout of the iPhone 4S in October generated intense competition for Apple purchasers’ disposable income, doing more to limit iPad shipment growth than competition from the Kindle Fire and other media tablets."
I certainly understand that people only have so much money to spend on gadgets, and they're more likely to upgrade their phone (which is more of a necessity than a toy), and considering the shared software lineage, it's no surprise that people worry about redundant purchases. There are obvious use cases where a tablet is a better pick than a smartphone and vice versa, but unless you have the disposable income for such a fine differentiation, maybe you'd rather a devices that straddle the line, like the Samsung Galaxy Note or the Dell Streak.
Apple CEO Tim Cook recently said that Apple doesn't believe price is a primary consideration for customers, and that people buying cheaper products don't end up with enjoyable experiences. However, if the Kindle Fire has proven anything, it's that for some customers, budget is a big deal.
If you can get a tablet that does the majority of what you want for half the price of an iPad, why wouldn't you consider it? That said, would you be interested in a lower-end, more affordable iPad? Maybe first-gen iPad specs with a smaller screen in the 7-inch range, and a pricetag around $250? Sure, it's not Apple's style, but it would help get folks hooked on two Apple products rather than just one.
Source: iSuppli
Reader comments
iPad's biggest competition isn't the Kindle Fire -- it's the iPhone 4S
In its current state the Kindle Fire couldn't possibly be a competitor to the iPad, its not even released world-wide and only in the US.
Just by reading the headline one might think that the iPhone was tallied as a tablet in this survey, which is highly misleading as it was not.
The harsh truth is that the iPad is losing percent points to the myryad of competitors in the market, as was to be expected. Thinking the shrinkage was a result of the launch of the 4S is just a fanboysh way to read the data.
A myriad? Um nope just the fire and the galaxy can even be considered an alternative. So how about a couple
Fortunately the market is not bound by what you consider to be a iPad competitor. People have different needs, preferences and pockets.
You want a couple? ASUS Transformer and Motorola Xoom. A couple more? The Le Pan TC 970 and the Toshiba Thrive. Two more? The Touchpad and the Zeepad. I could go on and on but you get the point.
Um judging by the graph in the article. Only amazon and Samsung have anything over 5% of the tablet market share. Asus? 3%. I don't call a competitor someone eating up three percent of the whole market
A lower end more affordable ipad? Look no further than the ipad one and two next month. That happens with time just like the iphone. There's no need to specifically make a low end one. That isn't Apple.
iPad isn't losing out to any competitors, or even the 4S. These studies are very one-dimensional. iPad 2 came out March 11. It's not going to sell like gangbusters 10 months later with a new iteration of the device right around the corner.
I spent over $1000 on Android tablets and phones. Finally Sprint got the iPhone 4s and I have finally got what I have been looking for.
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