IDC warns of US tablet market saturation as Kindle Fire shipments fall

While Apple shipped 26 million iPads in its latest quarter and Samsung shipped 14.5 million tablets, both up from last year, IDC is warning that the overall tablet market in the US appears to be reaching saturation. "It's becoming increasingly clear that markets such as the US are reaching high levels of consumer saturation and while emerging markets continue to show strong growth this has not been enough to sustain the dramatic worldwide growth rates of years past," warns IDC’s Tom Mainelli.

Worldwide tablet shipments grew to 76.9 million during the all important holiday season quarter according to IDC, 28.2 percent more than the same period last year. However, the growth appears to be slowing. Apple shipped 74.2 million iPads during 2013 compared to 65.7 million iPads during 2012, just a 12 percent increase. That may change throughout 2014 thanks to the new iPad Air and iPad mini with Retina display, but IDC warns of "a more challenging environment for tablets in 2014 and beyond." Those challenges include high penetration rates and increased competition for consumer spending.

AMAZON'S KINDLE FIRE SHIPMENTS DROPPED IN THE HOLIDAY QUARTER

Amazon’s tablet shipments appear to highlight some of the slow down in growth during the recent quarter. IDC says Kindle Fire shipments dropped from 5.9 million in the holiday period in 2012 to 5.8 million in the same period last year. That’s a decrease of 1.7 percent, and the figures come just hours before Amazon is due to report its latest financial results. While iPad growth has slowed and Kindle Fire sales have decreased, Samsung’s 14.5 million shipments during the holiday quarter were almost double the 7.8 million it shipped during the same period in 2012.

Meanwhile, Lenovo may have just acquired Motorola’s phone business from Google, but it’s also starting to ship more tablets worldwide. After shipping just 800,000 during the 2012 holiday quarter, shipments grew to 3.4 million during the latest holiday quarter. Despite the PC market decline, Lenovo has managed to grow its share of PCs and is the top manufacturer worldwide. With tablet saturation in the US, and the PC market declinestarting to stabilize, 2014 could be the year where we start to see less dramatic shifts in PC and tablet sales.

Read More »

Sharp's latest high-res Windows tablet is an Ultrabook minus the keyboard

Let's see, sporty Intel Core-i5 processor and Windows 8.1? Check. Retina-esque 3,200 x 1,800 15.6-inch display? Check. 4GB RAM and a 128GB SSD? Of course. If Sharp's RW-16G sounds like the laptop of your dreams, sorry, but it's actually a tablet in the mold of Panasonic's 20-inch, 4K Toughpad or Samsung's new Galaxy Note Pro 12.2. Sharp is keying in on business users for the new slate with a bundled stylus for graphics pros, along with screen sharing to assist during presentations. With the Japanese company's own IGZO screen tech, it'll also outlast everyone's bladders with nine hours of battery life. There's no pricing or availability yet, but so far, it looks destined for the Japan market only -- if you're stateside, Samsung's aforementioned model or a Surface Pro 2 might have to do

Read More »

Lenovo’s ThinkPad 8, hands-on with the ‘full PC’ in tablet form

Lenovo ThinkPad 8 is an 8.3-inch Windows tablet, which is touted as a “full PC in the Palm of your hands”. That’s a bold statement, and we’ve seen Windows tablets before that couldn’t hold up under the pressure. As Microsoft tries to find a true cross-reference OS, Lenovo tries to bring some true power to back it up. In Las Vegas at CES 2014, we got the chance for a quick hands-on with the new Windows tablet.

To start, the ThinkPad 8 is comfortable in-hand. The form factor is one we were suspect of, as Windows lends itself to a larger screen. Though screen size isn’t everything, it’s important when considering a Windows tablet, and we were just plain suspicious of the ThinkPad’s size. Comfortable to hold is one thing, a pleasure to use is the real benchmark, though.

Backed by an Intel quad-core Bay Trail processor, the ThinkPad 8 has a 2MP camera up front, and an 8MP shooter around back. Running Windows 8.1, and weighing just under a pound, the 8.8mm ThinkPad packs a lot into a small package. The screen is 1920 x 1200, making it more than capable of handling Window’s “metro” UI. In using the ThinkPad, we found ourselves happily surprised by what’s on offer, but a full PC?

Yes. The ThinkPad is, in regard to hardware, a full PC in a tiny package. While not the most robust Windows PC you can find (it’s still a tablet, after all), it gets the job done. The aluminum casing instilled a sense of confidence, and the responsiveness of the ThinkPad 8's screen and processor made it a pleasure to use in tablet form. Synced to a screen (we used Lenovo’s phenomenal 4K2K monitor), it actually becomes a very simple Windows PC. Again, not the top-end PC you might need, but for the professional on-the-go, it’s a true winner.

For consumers, this one offers even more utility. A PC wherever you go, whenever you want, without much compromise. Lenovo promises up to 8 hours battery life, which we sadly couldn’t task, but we’re not doubting that — yet. In our testing, we’d easily call this the best small Windows tablet on the market right now. We also really liked the Smart Cover Lenovo has for the ThinkPad 8, which is much like Apple’s offering. A neat flip-down corner wakes the rear camera, and brings quick shooting for those moments you just need to capture quickly.

Read More »