NPD: Outside of the iPad, TouchPad's fire sales make it number one

Analysis firm NPD has released one last report on tablet computers before the holiday season officially kicks off, and something crazy is happening to that market. Outside of the iPad (which of course is currently dominating the space), the next big contender goes to ... the HP TouchPad, a device which has already been discontinued. Despite simply selling off its stock of tablets at discounted prices, HP has earned itself a 17% share in the market, enough to top the next manufacturer on the list, Samsung. That's kind of crazy, and it shows you just how quickly and powerfully Apple has leaped ahead in this market.

I do think we're at a sort of weird crossroads in the tablet space, however. The Kindle Fire from Amazon just released recently, and it's not hard to guess that we'll see some nice sales of that tablet over the holidays. And as the HP news proves, while the iPad may be dominant in the space in terms of quality and features, price can still be a motivator to push tablet brands forward. NPD also says that "76% of consumers who purchased a non-Apple tablet didn't even consider the iPad," so clearly there's a large market of non-Apple buyers out there looking for a cheaper alternative.

That said, we'll also see plenty of iPad sales over the holiday season, no doubt. The tablet market is just getting started, and already Apple has a very nice head start.

[via MacRumors]

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Source: http://www.npdgroup.com/wps/portal/npd/us/news/pressreleases…

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Analysis firm NPD has released one last report on tablet computers before the holiday season officially kicks off, and something crazy...

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dagaz

"76% of consumers who purchased a non-Apple tablet didn't even consider the iPad"

That's because most people who seriously consider the iPad are going to go with the iPad.

November 23 2011 at 4:35 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Michael Long

Check the numbers. That's 17% of the market not considering iPads. So if the iPad has 75% of the market, the HP's actual share is 17% of the remaining 25%, or 4.25% of the total market INCLUDING the iPad.

November 23 2011 at 12:01 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

zoffdino

There are lots of people who reject the iPad on their philosophical ground. A guy in my office went through to the trouble of buying an Asus Transformer, only to find that there was no good handwriting app for Android. He has a keyboard to attach to the Transformer now. May have gotten a netbook instead.

If I have to make a flowchart, it would like this: 75% bought an iPad when they thought of a tablet. Of the remaining 25%, 76% didn't even consider an iPad. The remaining considered an iPad, but ultimately bought something else.

November 22 2011 at 11:14 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

darrell

I just used the Kindle Fire and it's an impressive device for the price - but I have to say it's very true that the difference between a 7" tablet and 10" iPad is very noticeable. the iPad at 10" feels like a TRUE tablet computing experience, one that can replace a netbook computer versus an eReeder which feels like a giant smartphone at 7".

November 22 2011 at 6:40 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

renegad3

"And as the HP news proves, while the iPad may be dominant in the space in terms of quality and features, price can still be a motivator to push tablet brands forward."

It only proves that a rock-bootom unsustainable price will really drive sales. When they were originally dropped in price, they did not sell any better whatsoever. They could be had anywhere at $299. ONLY when they were dropped to $99, a price they could never have been brought to market at (at least to turn a profit), did they begin to sell.

November 22 2011 at 6:33 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply