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Tablets Accounted for 46 Percent of PC Shipments in Q4

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134 million units includes 46.2 million units qualifying as tablets.

Tablets accounted for over a third of worldwide PC shipments during 2012's fourth quarter, according to research firm, Canalys.

PC shipments increased by 12 percent year-over-year to 134 million units with 46.2 million units qualifying as tablets, representing a 75 percent year-over-year increase. Apple shipped 27 million iPad units, giving it a 20 percent share of the market for the first time. Full year tablet shipments totaled 114.6 million units.

The iPad Mini accounted for more than half of the company's total iPad shipments. However, due to supply issues with other iPad variants, Apple’s tablet share dropped below 49 percent. Consequently, for the first time, the firm didn't control over half the tablet market.

"Apple timed the launch of the iPad Mini well," said Canalys research analyst, Pin-Chen Tang. "Its success proves there is a clear demand for pads with smaller screens at a more affordable price. Without the launch, Apple would surely have lost more ground to its competitors."

Samsung became a top five vendor for the first time in overall PC sales, with HP, Apple and Lenovo topping the list. Its Galaxy tablet shipped 7.6 million units, a year-over-year increase of 226 percent, while its notebook computers shipped 4.1 million units, which gave it a 9 percent share of the PC market.

Amazon's expanded Kindle Fire lineup and additional markets increased its worldwide shipments by 18 percent to 4.6 million units. Google’s Nexus 7 and Nexus 10 tablets "performed relatively well" and shipped a combined 2.6 million units during the fourth quarter.

"The sub-$200 price brands now feature products from established players that do not rely on low-quality components," said Canalys analyst, Tom Evans. "Those who control ecosystems, such as Amazon and Google, can obtain revenue from content sales, but pure hardware OEMs must accept decreasing margins or exit."

Canalys said Microsoft’s Surface RT tablet shipped 720,000 units in Q4. "The outlook for Windows RT appears bleak. Hardware OEMs are ignoring it due, in part, to a pricing strategy that does not align with the economics of the pad market."

According to Canalys, Microsoft will "rethink its pricing strategy for RT in the coming weeks." The research firm suggested that Microsoft should decrease the price of the operating system by 60 percent to get "OEMs back onside." In order to increase Windows RT sales, it said Microsoft has to increase manufacturer support, as well as delivering an effective strategy to educate consumers on the platform and attract new developers.

Tablet display shipments have already surpassed the shipments of notebooks, while global shipments during 2013 are expected to approach the quarter of a billion mark. Michael Dell, who recently spearheaded a $24.4 billion deal to make the company he founded go public, lately admitted that the rapid rise of tablets has surprised him.

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27 Comments Comment from the forums
  • abbadon_34 08 February 2013 14:44
    Tablets are NOT PC's. I repeat: Tablets are NOT, unless they have a x86/x64 compatible OS, they ARE NOT PCs!
    Reply
  • 08 February 2013 16:12
    Tablets are definitely not going to completely replace PC is any foreseeable future. There are many things that PC are currently doing, are completely beyond the capabilities of tablets. Still, it is also obvious that tablets is going to take away a chunk of existing PC market as the usage scenarios for certain user groups never require a full-blown PC to begin with. So the PC market segment is going to shrink. The only question is at what level the market will stabilize again. Any PC vendor who exit the scene completely now will be a gain for their competitor, as this mean they will sell more PCs in the long run with less competition. Still, PC vendors will need to learn to diversify to future-proof their business as the current users are taking longer and longer to replace their PCs. It will be inevitable for PC vendors to seek additional revenue by providing software services, or to learn to build many different kinds of gadgets such as tablets, smartphones, TV etc etc.
    Reply
  • merikafyeah 08 February 2013 16:40
    PC = personal computer. What is a computer?

    A computer is anything that computes. A pocket calculator is a computer. Cellphones nowadays are computers. Even your car has a computer running inside it.

    A computer is not limited to a single operating system or instruction set. Most of the machines that mass-produce all our hardware are controlled by computers that run on custom processors and operating systems that are most certainly not x86-64, since that requires a license.

    Some computers don't even run on electricity. In fact, the very first computers were purely mechanical, and some say that the very first computer program was created by a female mathematician named Ada Lovelace nearly 200 years ago.

    One of the very earliest computers that we know of is an ancient device known as the Antikythera mechanism, created over 2000 years ago. The Antikythera mechanism was used to calculate astronomical positions with astonishing accuracy. Before its discovery no one thought it was even remotely possible for such complex gearing to even exist at that time. It is difficult to create such a complex device even with today's modern technology. The device's calculations involved an understanding of mathematics, astronomy, and mechanical engineering that far exceed the level of a typical college graduate. It is quite possibly the greatest testament to human genius ever created.

    So yea... a tablet is most definitely a PC.
    Reply
  • spentshells 08 February 2013 18:27
    Tablets are ems ghey
    Reply
  • drwho1 08 February 2013 18:36
    Ada Lovelace why is that name familiar?
    /sarcasm

    I do agree with you though.
    Reply
  • shipandcarry 08 February 2013 19:14
    "PC = personal computer. What is a computer? A computer is anything that computes."
    A "personal computer" however is not just anything that computes, but rather anything that computes whatever its owners wishes. The term was created in the 70s to describe computers that could be programmed by their owners, unlike for example, smart terminals which would require a central server to function.

    Many tablet computers, eg. iPads, actually can't function properly without connecting to a central server. You can't install software that isn't approved by Apple. The same is true for Microsoft's latest tablet endeavors.

    As long as you can't write your own programs and, more importantly for the majority of owners, can't run someone else's programs, your computer is not a personal computer.

    "So yea... a tablet is most definitely a PC."
    Nay. It's not a PC. It's just a computer that you'll throw away in a few years contributing in a landfill.
    Reply
  • Non-Euclidean 08 February 2013 19:47
    abbadon_34Tablets are NOT PC's. I repeat: Tablets are NOT, unless they have a x86/x64 compatible OS, they ARE NOT PCs!
    By definition they are, Einstein. They are PERSONAL COMPUTERS. Just because they dont have all the bells and whistles of your x86 doesnt mean they are not PERSONAL COMPUTERS.


    Reply
  • Non-Euclidean 08 February 2013 19:50
    shipandcarry"Many tablet computers, eg. iPads, actually can't function properly without connecting to a central server. "
    Stop lying. Seriously, its pathetic.

    iPads function fine in standalone mode.

    The rest of your post is so much lame opinion on the definition of a PC.

    Newflash, man-with-the-blinders-on-permanently, your smartphone is a PC also.

    Reply
  • g00fysmiley 08 February 2013 19:54
    "Apple timed the launch of the iPad Mini well," said Canalys research analyst, Pin-Chen Tang. "Its success proves there is a clear demand for pads with smaller screens at a more affordable price. Without the launch, Apple would surely have lost more ground to its competitors."


    ... so apple invented the small form factor tablet... a year after the kindle fire, and many other small form factor tablets.. yep the kind of quote and info you expect to find in a zak article apple, innovating by immitating
    Reply
  • demonhorde665 08 February 2013 20:04
    abbadon_34Tablets are NOT PC's. I repeat: Tablets are NOT, unless they have a x86/x64 compatible OS, they ARE NOT PCs!actually many tablets do include a full OS and secondly , PC = Personal computer , which tablets are.

    now don't get me wrong i'm a desktop enthusiast but i'm not dillussional. I think in the future , tablets may kill lap tops and netbooks. but desktops will all ways have staying power for their buisness use and the sheer ammount of power you can pack into a tower. that said , Tablets are PC's no they are not desk tops , but they ahve every thing else a pc has that makes it a pc ,

    OS (any kind) - check
    CPU - check
    GPU - check
    Ram -check
    Storage memory - check
    Monitor - check
    human interfaces (physical or otherwise ) - check
    Inputs for mroe physical interfaces - check


    saying they arn't pc's is the sign of some one that wants mainstream progress to stop. get over it dude . Desk tops were NEVER really a good idea for main stream computing , they are bulky, expensive, and over over powered for the average user's need's.

    so you arn't part of the mainstream (neither am i ) but hell you still got your brand cake and ice cream , let others have thier's.
    Reply