North American Tablet Deliveries Surpass Laptop Deliveries

iPad Mini

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The popularity of tablets has gradually increased recently and it appears that tablet deliveries may surpass laptop deliveries in the fourth quarter, according to NPD DisplaySearch. Diversity and price appears to be the ace in the hole for tablets as deliveries are expected to reach 21.5 million units in the fourth quarter compared to the 14.6 million units of laptops that will be shipped in the same period.

A number of tablet models have a price tag of around $199, even as the device is offered in different sizes. Richard Shim of DisplaySearch also revealed that tablet deliveries will continue to surpass total notebook shipments in the coming year as tablet deliveries are expected to reach 80 million units. In comparison, only 63.8 million notebooks are expected to be delivered in the same period.

The release of the Google Nexus 7 and the Amazon Kindle Fire has resulted to the increasing popularity of tablets due to its rather low price point of only $199. Tablet sizes are also diverse ranging from the 10.6-inch devices down to the 7-inch devices. The release of the iPad Mini of Apple, which measures 7.9 inches has also added to the increasing popularity of tablet devices.

In addition to the iPad Mini, Apple also released its latest model of the iPad. Sales of the smaller-sized iPad Mini is estimated to reach around 2.5 million in its first weekend in the market according to Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray. Total iPad sales in the first weekend of availability of the two iPad devices are estimated to have reached 3 million units.

According to Shim, the low price point of the iPad Mini may result to increase in the market and demand for the device. On the other hand, sales of the Google Nexus 7 have reportedly averaged around one million units each month according to Asus, the manufacturer of the tablet.

Although North American deliveries of tablets will surpass deliveries of notebooks in the fourth quarter, it will not be the same in the international market. Tablet deliveries are only expected to exceed notebooks by 2015, where around 276 million tablets are expected to be delivered compared to the 270 million notebook deliveries in the same period.