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Bien Perez

More than one million tablet computers were sold in the mainland in the first quarter, spurred by high demand for Apple's popular iPad and an abundance of cheaper models from home-grown brands.
According to market research firm Analysys International, tablet sales in the mainland grew 33 per cent to 1.04 million units in the quarter to the end of March, from about 780,000 units in the fourth quarter of last year. 
At that pace of growth, total domestic tablet sales this year would easily reach the 4.5 million units forecast by Analysys in January.
United States-based Apple, which also makes the iPhone and iPod, accounted for a dominant 78.3 per cent domestic market share, it found,  followed by Korean electronics giant Samsung Technologies and Beijing-based tablet maker eBen with shares of 5.1 per cent and 4.5 per cent respectively.
Analysys said in a report that stores selling tablet computers, including some priced at below  1,000 yuan (HK$1,190), encouraged sales during the  Lunar New Year with increased marketing and promotions.
There was also brisk demand in the country's grey market for smuggled units of Apple's new iPad 2, a thinner and lighter model built with two cameras for the front and back. 
 Analysys estimated about 4.4 per cent of Apple's market share last quarter was from smuggled iPad 2 sales. The device was officially released last month by Apple in the US and other selected markets.
'Lenovo's LePad, Motorola's Xoom and devices from other major brands will exert influence on the tablet market, starting this month,' Analysys said.  
Hong Kong-listed Lenovo Group, the world's fourth-largest supplier of personal computers, started selling its LePad on March 28 through more than 5,000 stores in 400 cities across the mainland.
According to Shanghai-based research firm RedTech Advisers, there is more competition for the major brands in the mainland's tablet market due to plenty of low-cost devices churned out by small electronics manufacturers in Shenzhen. 
'Pricing is attractive,' Michael Clendenin, the managing director at RedTech Advisers, said in a report. 'More than 100 tablets from 50 different manufacturers have already hit the market.'  
So-called tier-3 and tier-4 tablets from small manufacturers cost from US$199 to less than US$99 each. 
Pricing for tier-1 and tier-2 devices - from the likes of Apple, Samsung, Lenovo, Acer Group, AsusTek and Dell - range from US$700 to US$200 each.



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