Channel Sales Boom for Android Tablets

Tablet sales through distribution across Western Europe doubled in the first six weeks of the second quarter, according to Context. The analyst’s research shows that sales of 7 inch tablet rocketed by 101 percent compared to the same period last year, driven by a surge in demand for Android-based tablets, which grew six-fold year on year.

Context’s figures looked at tablet sales via distribution and only considered slate form factors and not hybrid models.In earliy 2013, Android took the lion’s share of the market — 63 percent — with iOS tablets snatching 36 percent. Windows 8-based tablets held a marginal share of just one percent.Context put Android’s success down to ensuring low-end pricing, and predicted further growth for the operating system on tablets.

Context said, “Android-based tablets have enjoyed rising popularity recently following a number of low-spec, low-end product launches and the ensuing decline in pricing. Looking forward, Android sales are expected to continue to drive growth in upcoming quarters as an increasing number of PC vendors have begun to include Android in their OS strategy.”

Reseller Bechtle’s software manager Richard Gibbons attributed the boom in 10 inch tablets to low price points but said businesses tend to “write them off pretty quickly” due to security fears. Windows 8-based tablets will increase their market share once the new operating system is more established, he predicted.ds3SC3FC

He said, “At the minute, stock is still poor for Windows 8 tablets and as that improves then manufacturers will make more, prices will come down and more people will buy them. Windows 8 only came out in October so it still only a eight-month market.”

Gibbons adds interest in Windows 8 tablets is huge, and that after Microsoft launched its Surface Pro in the UK yesterday, the reseller was turning customers away as the vendor has still not confirmed or denied any plans to give the channel the tablets.We’re so used to looking at smartphones and now our tablets that TV was sort of left behind when it came to user interfaces. TiVo brings a much better user experience with an interface that allows consumers to find the content they care about more easily …

And you can have that same experience on your 8 inch tablet with TiVo Stream. You can move content that you’ve recorded on the DVR to your tablet. You can also stream content in the home live on the tablet.Where we’re going is from a device you could buy, which you could set up in your home to record TV, to a device that brings you all the content you care about regardless of the source as an integrated solution to the TV and also on your tablet.