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U.S. Non-iPad Tablet Market Led by TouchPad Fire Sales as iPad's Domination Continues

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Apr 12, 2001
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Research firm NPD today released a new study of non-iPad tablet sales in the United States, revealing that sell-through remains extremely small in the face of Apple's dominant market share. According to the report, only 1.2 million non-iPad tablets were sold in the United States during the first ten months of 2011, with HP leading the pack with 17% of that market, or about 200,000 units sold.

npd_oct11_tablet_sales.jpg

HP famously discontinued its TouchPad tablet just weeks after it launched, although the company has been periodically offering stocks of the device at bargain basement prices as low as $99 or as part of bundles with HP computers.
PC manufacturers are dominant in the tablet space, as four of the top five tablet brands already have a strong U.S. consumer PC presence. Only two of the top five brands play in the smartphone market.

"The market is filled with long-time PC and phone brands as well as low-cost entrants," stated Baker. "With a limited amount of shelf space and challenges in overcoming the iPads first mover strength, not all brands will be successful."
Click to expand...
Apple's sales performance is not included in the study, but it is clear that the total of 1.2 million non-iPad tablets fails to come close to Apple's sales numbers. For the first three quarters of 2011, Apple reported total iPad sales of just over 25 million iPads on a worldwide basis, and while the company does not break out its U.S. iPad sales, that number is almost certainly well above 10 million units, putting Apple in the neighborhood of 90% sales share.

Recent studies have pegged Apple's share of iPad shipments at closer to 65-70%, but those studies measure shipments from manufacturers to distribution channels and not sales to end users. While Apple has repeatedly noted that it is selling every iPad it can make, competitors' devices still appear to be languishing on store shelves amid low interest from consumers.

Article Link: U.S. Non-iPad Tablet Market Led by TouchPad Fire Sales as iPad's Domination Continues
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2011/11/22/u-s-non-ipad-tablet-market-led-by-touchpad-fire-sales-as-ipads-domination-continues/
TimUSCA

TimUSCA

macrumors 6502a
Mar 17, 2006
701
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Aiken, SC
HP only has the #2 spot because of the fire sale. I wouldn't expect that number to stay anywhere near what it is in a few months.
 
S

snebes

macrumors 6502a
Apr 20, 2008
810
712
TimUSCA said:
HP only has the #2 spot because of the fire sale. I wouldn't expect that number to stay anywhere near what it is in a few months.
Click to expand...

Obviously. They have none to sell. The next report will have them at 0%.
 
*LTD*

*LTD*

macrumors G4
Feb 5, 2009
10,703
1
Canada
TimUSCA said:
HP only has the #2 spot because of the fire sale. I wouldn't expect that number to stay anywhere near what it is in a few months.
Click to expand...

It's pretty sad . . . when people only started buying your tablet when you priced it cheap as dirt, for which you later dropped support entirely, and on which you took a massive loss.
 
hobo.hopkins

hobo.hopkins

macrumors 6502a
Jul 30, 2008
569
6
That is very impressive performance. If Apple releases a retina display on the next iPad, there is no telling where they'll be.
 
A

Andronicus

macrumors 6502a
Apr 1, 2008
819
817
M-O said:
this is more a testament to how terrible Android tablets are than to how great the touchpad was.
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Incorrect. Has everything to do with the fire sale and nothing at all to do with your opinion on android tablets.
 
T

tylerk36

macrumors member
Feb 22, 2009
76
0
HP had a good name. Touchpad. That could work as an iPad competitor. Now a company would just have to buy the name Touchpad and develop a great competitive product to Apples iPad.:apple:
 
I

iEvolution

macrumors 65816
Jul 11, 2008
1,432
2
It just goes to show how much influence price has on the market.

Would be interesting to see where the Amazon Fire places when compared to the tablet market, though I'm not sure if you could call the Fire a low-grade tablet or a high class e-reader.
 
firestarter

firestarter

macrumors 603
Dec 31, 2002
5,506
227
Green and pleasant land
iEvolution said:
It just goes to show how much influence price has on the market.

Would be interesting to see where the Amazon Fire places when compared to the tablet market, though I'm not sure if you could call the Fire a low-grade tablet or a high class e-reader.
Click to expand...

I think the Fire is going to be 'enough' for a lot of people - and the value proposition looks very good compared to the iPad.
 
S

swagi

macrumors 6502a
Sep 6, 2007
905
123
TimUSCA said:
HP only has the #2 spot because of the fire sale. I wouldn't expect that number to stay anywhere near what it is in a few months.
Click to expand...

I personally fint the number 3 spot for Samsung rather impressing given the fact that they nearly are not allowed to sell anything in the US :p

Must be a real bummer this Galaxy Tab.
 
Doctor Q

Doctor Q

Administrator
Staff member
Sep 19, 2002
39,782
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90% of sales - no small potatoes!

Apple won't maintain this level of dominance forever, but challengers have their work cut out for them. The press is hungry for news of an "iPad killer" so there'll be plenty of buzz and yammering about any contender who claims to match Apple on technology, price/performance, and value, but competitors will need not only a great product but also a convincing ad campaign to grab much mindshare. People of all ages and technical skill levels will have a hard time picking the right racehorse if they don't go with the leader.

Now that the holiday season is here, Apple is going to gobble up hefty profits and a lot of people are going to be giving thanks after they find an iPad stuffing their Christmas stocking. But I hope Apple doesn't get drunk on success and hold anything back from further R&D. This is no time to let others catch up.

Just food for thought.
 
V

vrDrew

macrumors 65816
Jan 31, 2010
1,376
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I wouldn't count Hewlett-Packard out of the Tablet business.

Meg Whitman suggested that HP would return with a Tablet, based on Windows 8, sometime next year.

Longer term, I just don't see Android-based tablets ever challenging the iPad. The dynamics and economics are so totally different to that of the smartphone business that comparisons (and predictions based on that history) are totally off-base.

A Windows 8-based tablet operating system, on the other hand, could potentially end up as a viable iPad competitor. However, its worth noting that even mighty Microsoft is going to have its work cut out for it if it is to succeed.

By the time Windows 8 for Tablets finally hits the streets, odds are that there will be a universe of close to a hundred million iPads in consumers' hands. Microsoft is going to have to put together a very compelling combination of features (ie. compatibility with the Office Suite, access to at least some legacy applications and media formats) along with a workable pricing model. Microsoft can make the economics work selling licenses for ~$20-30 per unit. They can't compete at an OEM cost basis comparable to what they currently charge for the full PC license.

At $20 per license, Tablet manufacturers are going to have a much easier choice: Either roll the dice with Android (and risk getting sued by Apple, Oracle, Microsoft and who knows who else) - or pay the Microsoft license fee, and go to market reasonably confident that they aren't going to be crippled with a barrage of patent lawsuits.
 
soco

soco

macrumors 68030
Dec 14, 2009
2,840
119
Yardley, PA
I love all this tablet excitement!

iPad is clearly out in front, but we're starting to see what some of us always knew would happen (and it always does in contention with Apple) and that's the big push of an entire product line.

Years ago no one seriously considered tablets a viable R&D. Most people didn't even know what a tablet was, and I'm talking about tech-heads too. Now, it's a household term for these fantastic little screens we carry about and use obsessively to interact with our world.

This is what I love about Apple. Plain and simple. Even if they don't make the product that everyone will use and one that will dominate, they make it right (at least by some standards) and push the industry. Innovation at it's best.

They're masters of taking something 90% of the way there, giving it that last 10%, and adding an extra 1% just because it felt right. It's genius and I beg that it never stops.

pori12 said:
bunch of garbage
Click to expand...
Where do I sign up? Can I bring Thanksgiving leftovers?
 
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*LTD*

*LTD*

macrumors G4
Feb 5, 2009
10,703
1
Canada
vrDrew said:
I wouldn't count Hewlett-Packard out of the Tablet business.

Meg Whitman suggested that HP would return with a Tablet, based on Windows 8, sometime next year.

Longer term, I just don't see Android-based tablets ever challenging the iPad. The dynamics and economics are so totally different to that of the smartphone business that comparisons (and predictions based on that history) are totally off-base.

A Windows 8-based tablet operating system, on the other hand, could potentially end up as a viable iPad competitor. However, its worth noting that even mighty Microsoft is going to have its work cut out for it if it is to succeed.

By the time Windows 8 for Tablets finally hits the streets, odds are that there will be a universe of close to a hundred million iPads in consumers' hands.
Click to expand...

It took MS ages to get moving, as usual. And by the time they finally push out their Windows 8 on tablets, they're facing a tablet universe owned by Apple - that is, not just any tech company, but Apple - with an iPad that will be highly developed and backed by the most robust, profitable and extensive ecosystem in the business.

Good luck with that.
 
Abyssgh0st

Abyssgh0st

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*LTD* said:
TimUSCA said:
HP only has the #2 spot because of the fire sale. I wouldn't expect that number to stay anywhere near what it is in a few months.
Click to expand...

It's pretty sad . . . when people only started buying your tablet when you priced it cheap as dirt, for which you later dropped support entirely, and on which you took a massive loss.
Click to expand...

I don't think they dropped support at all, let alone entirely.
 
chagla

chagla

macrumors 6502a
Mar 21, 2008
797
1,727
I bet most users here have never used WebOS. it's a beautiful, very intuitive os. such an untimely death... so sad.
 
P

paul4339

macrumors 65816
Sep 14, 2009
1,448
732
Bascially it's dead money if it sits in inventory or the shelves for too long.

HP had to drastically reduce prices (liquidate),
RIM had to do the same,
And today I noticed an bundling package for a 'free' Samsung 10.1 from Rogers Wireless (Canada).

In the end they will all sell if you reduce prices low enough... the difference is that their quarterly financials will show that they took a hit (unless they hide the numbers); or decide not to report the phone and tablets sales data.


.
 
tatonka

tatonka

macrumors 6502
Aug 25, 2009
495
40
I think the Fire will give the iPad a run for the money. Up til this point there hasn't been a really serious contender out there (maybe the Galaxy Tab to a certain extend). But Amazon has both shown that they get consumers and are able to create products that work as well as that they are willing to pay tons of money to get into a market. The $199 price point is a huge selling point alone.

I will still stick with my iPad .. but if I had to choose one of the contenders .. the Fire would be top on my list (only real big downer is the 7" screen .. not cool).

T.
 
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