IDC today released worldwide tablet plus 2-in-1 shipments number. Total shipment is now down to 50.4 million units in the Q1 2014, this is decline of -35.7% from the holiday quarter and just 3.9% growth over the same period a year ago. IDC expects even more challenging year ahead for this category. So, What’s going wrong for tablets? There are two main factors. First, there is a huge rise in Phablet form factor which serves both as a phone and tablet to users. Second, the upgrade cycle for tablet owners are longer than expected. Tom Mainelli, IDC Program Vice President, Devices and Displays said, “In addition, commercial growth has not been robust enough to offset the slowing of consumer shipments.” Apple maintained its lead in the worldwide tablet plus 2-in-1 market, shipping 16.4 million units. That’s down from 26.0 million units in the previous quarter and well below its total of 19.5 million units in the first quarter of 2013. Despite the contraction, the company saw its share of the...

The rest of the story...
Microsoft News