“Replacing
Tablet PCs with large-size smartphones is expected to be a theme in the coming
years, expanding on a trend that has mainly been limited to China. As the
emergence of large-size smartphones becomes a bigger influence in the US, shipments
of small-size Tablet PCs are expected to decline”
NPD Group Analyst Richard Shim commenting on
the decline of Tablet Sales, which is occurring for the first time in four
years since the Introduction of Tablets
Tablets
were the killers of the Laptop, Mice and even Printers as I’d predicted in my Geezam blog article entitled “How
the Apple iPad killed Ultrabooks, Printing and the Mouse as the World
Rediscovers Tablets”.
Now
Tablets surprisingly are being killed off by Phablets and a host of other
factors as indicated by analyst IDC in the article “Phablets
to bite into Tablet sales this year, says IDC”, published May 29, 2014 7:05
AM PDT by Lance Whitney, CNET News. Analyst IDC defines a Phablet as a smartphone
with a screen size of 5.5 to 7 inches.
The
IDC Stats for the First Quarter of 2014 indicate a 10.4% increase in share of
total shipments, compared to 4.3% in the First Quarter of 2013. Folks, that
double in the space of a year, forcing Program Vice President for Devices &
Displays at IDC, Tom Mainelli, to issue this statement that is the sum of all
of Apple's fears, quote: “The rise of Phablets -- smartphones with 5.5-inch and
larger screens -- are causing many people to second-guess Tablet purchases as
the larger screens on these phones are often adequate for tasks once reserved
for Tablets”.
Sales
globally are trending down by 5% this First Quarter of 2014 based on the Stats
of yet another analyst the NPD Group as reported in “Tablet
sales slow for the first time, down 5 percent”, published May 28, 2014
11:01 AM PDT by Donna Tam, CNET News.
Guess
Minister of Finance Dr. Peter Phillips was getting good advice when he decided
to reduce the CET on Phablets and smartphones, with Tablet to come this August
of 2014 as stated in my blog article
entitled “Council
of Trade and Economic Development allows GOJ to remove CET on smartphones - How
CET removal from Phablets is the Perfect Storm for CET-Free Tablets by
Emancipation Day”.
Apparently
it may be a combination of factors that are slowly poisoning the minds of
customer against new Tablet Purchases:
1.
Cheaper “White Box” Chinese Tablets
2.
Christmas Sales means no more money to
spend until Christmas 2014
3.
Competition from Phablets
4.
Desire for Tablets that can replace
Laptops being unfulfilled after five years
5.
Product cycle of Tablets coming to an
end after nearly four years of launch since 2010
This
is surprising but expected; especially as it has we’re approaching almost five
(5) years of Tablets being a part of our Computing Lexicon since the
first Apple iPad made its debut on Saturday
3rd April 2010AD as stated in my blog article
entitled “Apple
iPad and the future of Mobile Computing”.
But
what will replace the Apple iPad and Tablets in general? My Channeling into the
Future of the Tablet reveals a pathway to a device long forgotten in the mists
of time: smartglasses!
Tablets sales decline
in Fourth Quarter 2014 – Phablets and “White Box” Chinese Tablets Unite
Both
Apple and Samsung are feeling the hurt, albeit Samsung is managing to put up a
fight with increased marketshare globally. However, in terms of physical units,
both Apple and Samsung saw the global decline affects sales of both 7” and 10” Tablets.
The
Stats tell the tale of the Tablets in the First Quarter of 2014:
1.
56.3 million Units compared to 59
million units in the First Quarter of 2013
2.
16.1% Global market Share for Apple,
down 3.9% compared to 20% in the First Quarter of 2013
3.
11% Global market Share for Apple, up 2%
compared to 9% in the First Quarter of 2013
The
Table for the NPD Group Stats below shows declines across the board as shown
below.
 |
“White
Box” Tablets, a term that’s a play on “White Label” Music, are now reaching
critical mass and recording gains as I’d predicted in my blog
article entitled “Apple
iPad vs “White Box” Tablet - Jason's Argonauts Home Improvement The Next Big
Thing”.
This
is possible as albeit sales numbers may decline, the marketshare is based on
percentages. So if other see increases in their sales, your percentage
marketshare will decline. This is Apple’s Dilemma, even after making the
decision to launch an Apple iPad Mini back in 2012 as stated in my Geezam blog
article entitled “Apple needs to
consider a 7” Tablet as the million-selling Amazon Kindle Fire is Razor Sharp”.
That
7.9” Apple iPad Mini is now in its second iteration as the Apple iPad Mini 2
with the Apple iPad 5 being renamed the Apple iPad Air as reported in my blog
article entitled “Apple
iPad Air, the World’s Lightest Tablet launched in Silver, Space Grey, White -
Christmas smartphone and Tablet Battle Royale as Winter is Coming”.
Tablets vs Phablets –
Wearable Computing making Tablets obsolete in the Year of the Sheep
Tablet
have indeed lasted long, considering I’d predicted 7” Tablets to be the killers
of 10” Tablets due to their conveniently portable size as predicted in my Geezam blog article entitled “The
Two Towers of Tablets, 7” Amazon Kindle Fire and 7.9” Apple iPad are the Global
Tablet size of Choice”.
Now
Tablets face their sternest test coming in 2015, the Year of the Sheep!
Not
from the soon-to-be-short lived Trend towards Phablets which even Blackberry is
hopping on to by 2016 as stated in my blog
article entitled “Blackberry
to launch Phablet with Blackberry 10.3 by Fourth Quarter 2014 - Profitability
in the Far East as Phablets, BBM 2.0 and Wearables are Trending in 2016”,
but Wearables.
Specifically
Wearable Computing compose of smartglasses acting as the AR (Augmented
Reality)/VR (Virtual Reality) Screen that are Bluetooth-synched to a Smartwatch
that can make and receive Calls as prophesied in my blog
article entitled “Google
Glass launched early as a Product - Google pre-empting Samsung Galaxy Glass and
Facebook's Oculus Rift replacing the smartphone in 2015 the Year of the Sheep”.
So
Phablets are merely a scapegoat being held up by the analyst IDC, as their
pricing due to the fact that they are mainly available on 2 year Contracts mean
that they’re not as affordable as a cheaper No-Contract W-Fi Internet enabled “White
Box” Chinese Tablet. Phablets are on the rise.
It’s
just that the sudden rise of Phablets isn’t really responsible for the slow and
deadly decline of the Apple iPad and other Tablet-would be followers. Tablets
have been in decline since 2012 when the Amazon Kindle Fire came along as
predicted in my
blog article entitled “Apple
iPad 3 Launch on March 2012 - Amazon Kindle Fire is a Sweet Dream but a
Beautiful Nightmare for Apple” and cheaper No-Contract W-Fi Internet
enabled “White Box” Chinese Tablet came on the scene!
Despite
their Dual-functionality nature, price will predominate and cheaper Chinese
Tablets are the real culprit to be blamed for the decline in sales for Apple
and Samsung, not Phablets. Phablets will continue to rise, but like the decline
in sales numbers for the Apple iPad and Samsung Galaxy Tab, it may be just one
Quarter of 2014 as the trend may be reversed later in the year.
Meanwhile
Wearable Computers, the Dark Horse in the Year of the Horse 2014, will loom
large even in the Year of the Sheep in 2015.
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