INTRODUCTION
CyberMedia Research Definition of Tablet: CyberMedia Research defines the tablet as a mobile device, positioned to satisfy the mobile Internet and computing needs of a user. It is a slate or can be converted into a slate form factor, larger than 5-inch screen size, touch screen as primary input method and uses either a mobile network like GSM/CDMA/WiMAX/LTE or WiFi or, both for enabling internet connectivity. In addition to this a tablet may also include a detachable keyboard and voice capability as in mobile phones. A tablet may run on a specially designed Operating System (OS) such as Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) or RIMs QNx or, a PC/Smartphone OS like Windows 7/8, Android 2.2 (Froyo) and iOS 4, which may be modified. A tablet uses processors based on ARM or Intel's x86 architecture. Tablets provide touch based user experience with a screen size convenient enough for web surfing, content consumption and entertainment. Moreover, portability, ease of use and wireless connectivity 'on-the-go' all combine to make the tablet an even more attractive buy.
(http://www.cmrindia.com/press_releases/india-pc-market-2011-and2012.asp)
BACKGROUND INFO ON MARKET
Tablet Sales in India [Nov 10 to March 11]
For the period between November 2010 and March 2011, 85000 tablets were sold. Of which 85% were Samsung Galaxy Tabs and 8.2% were Olivepads from Olive Telecom. Apples iPad has a mere 5.9% share with the rest shared between umpteen tablet brands as per CMRI. For every 1 iPad sold, 14 Samsung Galaxy Tabs were sold in India
Unlike whats happening in the US and the rest of the world, tablets are still growing as a separate product category without hampering PC sales. May be because, India doesnt yet have enough PCs. There are 52 million PCs in India which translates to 1 computer for every 25 Indian citizens. Though thats a great improvement from 2006 levels, it is still less, for a country which often boasts
about its IT prowess. As many as 50 tablet models are available in India with one new model launching every week. Despite the recent spate of tablets flooding Indian markets, a mere 250,000 tablets will be sold during this year. This estimate is contrary to the earlier estimate of 1 million tablets to be sold in India. (http://trak.in/tags/business/2011/09/02/tablet-sales-indiaoverview/)
COMPETITION: Each category envisages the requirement of a particular market segment it eventually caters to. So, lets see the top 3 players in each category.
Tablet Price in India: Above Rs.25,000
This segment caters specially to the group where quality and brand value come before the cost. No points for guessing the names of the top 3 here though. 1. Apple iPad2 : Rs.41,900(32GB) / Rs.31,900(16GB) 2. Samsung Galaxy Tab 750 : Rs. 32,900(16GB) 3. Motorola XOOM Wi-Fi : Rs.31,200(16GB) With Samsung notching up the highest sales figure percentage, a whooping 85%, according to a media report [read: Tablet Market Share In India] the elbow room in this Big Players room is slowly diminishing. Apple still continues to woo the market by its ever
evolving features and niche offering, while players like Motorolas
XOOM, RIMs Playbook, LGs OPTIMUS, HTCs Flyer & Acers MOBILE ICONIA are having a tough time keeping up the pace and
the at the same time innovating with price effectiveness.
Tablet Price in India: Rs.15,000 Rs.25,000
Although not a windfall, but slowly and steadily this segment has gathered momentum which is getting stronger by the day. To be fair this is the battleground of yesteryears champions and todays street smart fighters. With both Indian and international brands fighting it out in this space, the segment has quite a few variants, the top 3 among them being: 1. Notionink Adam : Rs.20,000(8GB) 2. Samsung P100 Galaxy Tab : Rs.23,800(16GB) 3. MSI WindPad 110W : Rs.23,500(16GB) As for Samsung P100, although it may be outdated but it still is a power packed package for the money conscious yet quality enthusiasts. Moreover Notioninks Adam is a revelation in itself. With a dual core ARM11 cortex processor and a NVIDIA Tegra accelerator, this Hyderabad originated tablet has some breathtaking features, almost comparable to Apple iPad and yet at sub 20,000 ranges. Worth mention are also HCLs ME series, CREATIVEs ZiiO &
VIEWSONICs ViewPad. These are still in there nascent phases and
will undergo a host of changes to make them more power efficient and smarter in terms of faster computing.
Tablet Price in India: SUB 15,000
This is the most dynamic of the 3 segments. Almost every day you
can find a new sub 15,000 tablet being launched in India. The biggest compromise this segment makes is the replacement of the capacitive touch screens by the less reliable and less efficient Resistive touch screen. The top 3 in this segment are: 1. Olive OLIVEPAD VT100 : Rs.15,000(microSD card slot memory) 2. Reliance 3G TAB : Rs.13,000(4GB microSD card memory) 3. Huawei IDEOS Slim : Rs.8,850(microSD card slot memory) Reliance 3G Tab also supports features of a Mobile TV which is quite unique in this segment. Apart from these, this segment had seen a rush of entries from all parts of the tablet market. Manufacturer like ACCORD (Pad), BEETEL(MagiQ), FUJEZONE, BINATONE(easyTAB) & ZINGLIFE have all launched products in the market since the meteoric rise of the tablet market in India. To sum it up, although much is left to be seen as to how the overall tablet segment unfolds in India, but the race for the top spot is being keenly contested between the Samsung Galaxy TAB 750 and the Apple iPad. (http://www.pluggd.in/tablet-price-in-india-297/)
