“Tablets are still popular and sales are growing — 11% last quarter, to be precise, according to tech consultancy IDC,” David Goldman reports for CNNMoney. “Still, that’s a far cry from two years ago, when tablets were growing at a 60% clip. Meanwhile, the iPad has been in the doldrums, posting a 9% sales decline last quarter, which was preceded by a 16% slump the quarter before that.”
“There are three big obstacles facing the market that are impacting demand for tablets: Smartphones are getting bigger, tablets last a while and businesses aren’t buying them,” Goldman reports. “Tablets last a while. Unlike smartphones, there’s not much incentive to buy a new tablet every two years. Most people buy unsubsidized, Wi-Fi-only tablets without a contract from their wireless carrier. And there really isn’t that much difference between Apple’s new iPad Air and the original iPad that came out four years ago.”
MacDailyNews Take: The original iPad is stuck at iOS 5.1.1. It has no cameras. It has no gyroscope, which means it cannot run many apps. It has no Retina display. There are massive differences between the RAM-starved, 32-bit A4-powered original iPad and today’s 64-bit A8/M7-powered, high-performance, ultra-thin and light iPad Air.
“PCs are everywhere in corporations, but tablets are harder to come by. Corporate IT departments are notoriously slow at adopting new technologies, and security remains a concern. But that also means there’s a huge growth opportunity,” Goldman reports. “Apple and IBM announced a partnership earlier this month aimed at solving the corporate tablet problem… That’s why analysts think tablets could get a second wind later this year… So the tablet’s not dead. It’s just resting.”
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