Tablet shipments in the two countries doubled in Q2 compared to the previous quarter, reaching 420,000 units. However, sales of Android tablets actually increased threefold according to numbers from IDC.
As a result, Android tablets accounted for 25 percent of the total market. By comparison, iPad sales accounted for 80 percent of the market in North America over the same period.
IDC Market Analyst Yee-Kuan Lau explained the trend, saying:
The market expansion was a combined effort of early adopters refreshing devices purchased last year and new users who were interested in a media tablet as a complementary device, with some waiting for more non-Apple variety. That said, there is still strong demand for Apple's iPad 2 since its launch at the end of March.
It's possible this is simply a mirror image of the scenario which played out earlier in the North American market. In that region, iPad sales only accounted for 74 percent of the market in Q1 before rebounding in Q2.
Written by: Rich Fiscus @ 29 Sep 2011 17:55
