Tablets are comfortably outselling PCs according to new data from analyst GfK. In the month of December 264% more media tablets were sold than notebooks and desktops combined. Looking at the final quarter of 2012, media tablets experienced a spike in sales accounting for 67% of the total Irish computing market.
A surge of sales was recorded in Q4 2012 due to the launch of several high profile 7" devices (e.g. the iPad mini), at relatively affordable price points. This resulted in media tablets being the key gifting product in the Irish computing market for Christmas 2012.
As expected, media tablet sales in 2013 have slowed in comparison to the last quarter of 2012. Nevertheless, tablets continue to outperform the rest of the computing market, and are responsible for 57% of all computing products sold so far in 2013.
Robyn Tovey, GfK account executive, said: "Since launching our retail sales tracking service for media tablets in Ireland back in October last year, our research suggests that this trend will continue throughout 2013, as lower prices will continue to drive sales of these devices. However, the market will become increasingly interesting as more hybrid devices (for example, a notebook that has a detachable keyboard, making it a hybrid between a notebook and a tablet) begin to hit retail shelves."
With a current average selling price for hybrid devices at €850, purchasing a tablet and keyboard separately currently remains a more economical option. If price points of hybrid devices were to drop, this form factor could pose a threat to notebooks, given their superior mobility.
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