Yankee Group Predicts Tablet Sales Will Eclipse Those of PCs by 2015

  Yankee Group Predicts Tablet Sales Will Eclipse Those of PCs by 2015

But booming market still leaves competitors battling for No. 2 behind Apple’s
iPad.

Business Wire

BOSTON -- June 07, 2012

Tablets in use in the U.S. will climb from 25 million in 2011 to more than 134
million in 2015, with sales eventually eclipsing those of PCs, according to
Yankee Group’s new report “2012 US Tablet Landscape: An All-Too-Familiar
Story.” Unfortunately for Apple’s competitors, however, the device’s rising
popularity doesn’t promise correlative gains for all manufacturers.

Currently, iPads represent 51 percent of all tablets owned in the U.S.,
leaving all other makers battling for less than half the overall market.
Still, almost 25 percent of respondents who intend to buy a tablet in the next
six months say they don’t know what brand they will purchase—presenting a huge
opportunity for manufacturers looking to grow their base.

“For the second quarter in a row, Apple’s iPad is leading the tablet market,
forcing all other competitors to battle for the remaining 49 percent share,”
said Carl Howe, research VP and head of the devices practice at Yankee Group.
“It’s too late to change current ownership, but tablet makers looking to gain
on Apple need to start improving their brand visibility and targeting people
who don’t already have their minds set on an iPad.”

Other findings from the report include:

  * The Kindle Fire has cooled with consumers. Those who planned to buy a
    Kindle Fire in 2011 now own one, bumping ownership up to 7 percent. But
    today’s intent to buy has dropped off, falling from 11 percent last year
    to just 6 percent today.
  * Samsung takes a hit. Last year, more than 10 percent of consumers owned a
    Samsung tablet and 8 percent intended to buy one in the next six months.
    In 2012, these figures have fallen to 7 and 4 percent, respectively.
  * Smaller tablet manufacturers face an even grimmer outlook. Fewer than 4
    percent of consumers currently own a BlackBerry PlayBook or Motorola- or
    Dell-branded tablet, and just 2 percent say they own an Asus tablet.

About Yankee Group

Yankee Group is the preeminent research and advisory firm equipping companies
to profit in a mobile world. The core of our content is proprietary research
and analytics on the attitudes, behaviors and usage patterns of mobile users.
Based on this research, we provide a range of actionable data, insights and
advice to marketing, strategy and product executives driving the mobility
revolution in leading companies worldwide.

Contact:

Yankee Group
Joanne Cummings, +1-617-598-7233
mediarelations@yankeegroup.com