According to a new report from the Guardian, Android powered tablets accounted for 56 per cent of the tablet market in the UK for the first three quarters in 2013. Apple’s iPad won 38 per cent of the market in the same period, according to a new IDC report.
In the first three quarters of the year, 7.6m tablets were shipped to the UK, a year-on-year growth of 192% for the same period in 2012, according to IDC‘s data. Of those 7.6m tablets shipped, the average sale price was $407 making around $3bn (£2.2bn) in sales. The increase in Android market share is largely attributed to a new wave of tablet PCs from top UK retailers such as Tesco and Argos, some of these tablets are on sale for as little as £30, according to the report.
“In September, the high street grocer Tesco made a surprise announcement by launching its Hudl tablet for £119, acknowledging the exploding tablet market and the popularity of Android devices,” Samuel Gibbs writes for the Guardian. “Tesco’s 7 inch Android tablet significantly undercut the competition including the iPad, Nexus 7 and even Amazon‘s Kindle Fire tablet range. It was an instant hit and went on to sell 300,000 in its first two months, as Tesco struggled to keep stock on store shelves.”
“2013 was definitely the year of the tablet,” said Francisco Jeronimo, research director for the analysts IDC. “The very low end tablet market saw very strong sales this year, which is something we’re expecting to continue into next year and beyond – especially for Christmas.”
Let’s hope these tablets are actually used beyond Christmas.