“Global market research company TNS polled 34,000 people across 43 countries (501 people from Hong Kong) in compiling a report on worldwide tablet sales, and they found that, already, one in six Hongkongers — or 17% — are proud owners of a tablet computer, a rate that is six times the global average of 3%,” Chris Chang reports for M.I.C. Gadget.
“That’s pretty incredible. According to the TNS report, 50% of people here say they expect to purchase a tablet, far higher than the global average of just 15% of the general community,” Chang reports. “What’s more, compared to Hong Kong, just 2.1% of citizens from mainland China said they owned a tablet (with 5.9% saying they planned to buy one), while the figures recorded from the United States were 5.3% ownership and 20.3% of people who were still making plans for purchase.”
Chang reports, “Around 500,000 tablets have been sold in Hong Kong in the past 12 months, in a city of around seven million people, according to industry sources, with ‘nine out of 10’ being Apple iPads! The data is stunning, however, we don’t believe the locals are using it after buying it, since there’s a grey market in the city, where you can sell the iPads for profits.”
Much more in the full article here.
Well, whether they are sold on the regular market or the grey market, makes no difference. All the grey market means is that someone else gets a cut after APPL gets theirs. They are being bought and used.
Utter rubbish. Hong Kong is as stratified as everywhere else. Its population is way over 7 million and a lot are poor laborers.
We are plagued by fatuous, inaccurate, hit-whoring ‘analysts’ (pass me the Maxim). 501 in the sample? Pfft!
They are wrong about the percentage of tablets that are iPads, as well. 95%? More like ALL of them.
WRONG!
HK population is just over 7 million. Official HK Government reference: http://www.censtatd.gov.hk/hong_kong_statistics/statistics_by_subject/index.jsp
Stratified society? Yes. But even the working class are VERY status symbol conscious.
So this is a bit over 1 million ipads in use in HK? Totally plausible. Life is very cramped in HK, so anything that offers a lot of function in a little space is going to do well.
BTW, I am sure their 3G iPads also work in the subways, as do their cell phones, and have since the 90s. Wouldn’t surprise me if they had WiFi on the trains too.
HK is a lot more technologically advanced than the USA.
Totally agree!In fact, most of the big Asian cities are more technoligically advanced than The USA!
Yes, this is true and has been for over a century.
Proof-they had electric light bulbs before anywhere in the US.
this just proves that apple is over 90% of the tablet market
if they keep it they will have a tablet monopoly
World population 2 billion, let’s say. 3% of 2 billion is 60,000,000. iPads sold? Not yet, anyway.
Utter, utter bullshit. Who pays these ignorant bastages?
Try a world population of 7 billion.
Thank you. Even worse.
What are you smoking? The article is about HK, not world wide usage.
HK is just one tiny little part of the world.
“the global average of 3%”
What?!?
2.1% of Mainland Chinese citizens own tablets??? That’d be like over 26M!!! The iPad hasn’t sold that many, considering they also said 5.3% of Americans own one, which would mean about 16M here. Someone’s numbers a a touch high.
As for the iPad in China, I’ve been told that parents are buying them for their kids.
does that include Dong Hung Low
It’s because of the great asian character input method that’s found on the iDevices.
The iPad is the perfect fit for HONG KONG! Very small apartments with multiple people living in each unit. Desktops just take up way to much space.