Tablet sales: Aakash beats Apple in India

Aakash tablet has topped the tablet market in India during the first quarter of 2013, according to market research firm Cyber Media Research. The Indian consumer has no bias against domestic brands, says CMR.

According to CMR's India quarterly tablet PC market review, during the first quarter (January-March) 2013, over 905,000 Tablets were sold (shipped) in the quarter by as many as 53 domestic and international vendors.

However, only nine vendors shipped in significant volumes of more than 20,000 units during the period.  The overall growth in shipments of tablets in the India market registered an 158.96% year-on-year (1Q CY 2013 over 1Q CY 2012) growth, but a marginal 17.57% quarter-on-quarter (1Q CY 2013 over 4Q CY 2012) dip due to seasonal factors.

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Datawind
Market share: 15%

Datawind, manufacturer of Akash garnered about 15% share in the tablet market.

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Micromax
Market share: 12.3%

"The continued long term growth in shipments of tablets in the India market further points to the fact that a large proportion of first time users of computers in emerging markets like India are getting to experience computing through this highly portable, converged form factor," Faisal Kawoosa said

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Apple

Market share: 11.7%

Dwelling on individual vendor performances, Tarun Pathak, Analyst, CMR Telecoms Practice said, "Datawind and Micromax have figured amongst the Top 3 India Tablet vendors since 4Q CY 2012, while Apple was No. 2 for CY 2012. 

These players continued to maintain their leadership ranks during 1Q CY 2013.

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According to Tarun Pathak, this trend points to a sort of polarization of India Tablet user segments – one set looks primarily for performance and best-in-class build quality and typically opts for the high-end Apple iPad, while the other segment looks for a wide range of features at an affordable price point and opts for brands like Datawind and Micromax.