U.S. Non-iPad Tablet Market Led by TouchPad Fire Sales as iPad's Domination Continues
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.
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.”
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.
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Top Rated Comments
Obviously. They have none to sell. The next report will have them at 0%.
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.
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.
I think they'll be #1. Same as they are now.