Monday, December 6, 2010

'iPad effect' continues, as Apple gains market share in developed regions

SANTA CLARA, USA: Capturing a 12.4 percent share of global mobile PC shipments in Q3’10, Apple is benefiting from the iPad Effect, which continues to shake up the mobile PC market.

According to preliminary results from the DisplaySearch Quarterly Mobile PC Shipment and Forecast Report*, Apple took the #3 position worldwide, and ranks #1 in North America as a result of the continued success of the iPad. The iPad accounts for an 8 percent share of global shipments of all mobile PCs, and 95 percent of iPad shipments were to developed regions, primarily North America.

“A lack of competitive tablet PC products from other brands continues to drive Apple’s market share in the mobile PC segment. As the iPad continues its worldwide rollout, one developed region where the acceptance of the iPad has been weak is Japan, however. Questions of local language content and language-specific apps have slowed acceptance in this tech savvy region,” noted Chris Connery, Vice President of Large Format Displays at DisplaySearch.

“As other players come to market with tablet PCs it will be interesting to see if they can move beyond the Western-centric nature of Apple’s product and develop an infrastructure to support local needs, especially with the growth of consumer spending in China on personal computing devices.”

“On a global scale, the adoption of iPad is not without its challenges,” noted Hidetoshi Himuro, Director of IT Market Research at DisplaySearch. “Localized content in non-English speaking regions is sparse, and iPad owners must have a PC for downloading content from iTunes. As a result, penetration in developing regions will be slow.”

HP maintained its position as the global leader in mobile PC shipments with 9.5 million units shipped in Q3’10, accounting for a 17.3 percent market share. Acer followed close behind with 9.1 million units shipped and a 16.5 percent market share. Apple’s MacBook shipments have also increased, but have not had the impact of the iPad.

Without the iPad, Apple’s mobile PC share would be 4.8 percent, ranking #8 globally. The top five brands account for 65.2 percent of the total mobile PC market, as the strength of brand names continues to grow.

Table 1: Preliminary Q3’10 Worldwide Mobile PC Shipment Rankings by Brand (millions)Source: DisplaySearch Quarterly Mobile PC Shipment and Forecast Report.

In Q3’10, worldwide mobile PC shipments (which include tablet PCs) reached 55 million, up 9.6 percent Q/Q and 19 percent Y/Y, the highest volume since DisplaySearch first began to track this segment in 1999.

Both sequential and yearly growth seemed strong in many regions, but it should be noted that new personal computing devices such as netbooks and tablet PCs, as well as lower-priced notebooks, are driving most of the demand. In high-growth regions such as China, consumers still favor traditional desktop PC and external monitor configurations, typically purchased as a DIY (do-it-yourself) kit, for home use.

However, the market is changing quickly in China, so the transition from desktop to mobile PCs is poised to happen much faster in this region than it did in others.

Recognizing the evolving definition of a “personal computer,” especially for consumers, is key to understanding the true demand outlook.

Table 2: Preliminary Q3’10 Mobile PC Unit Shipments by Region (millions)Source: DisplaySearch Quarterly Mobile PC Shipment and Forecast Report.

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