Green man: Aussies are all over Android tabs, which have doubled in just 3 months.
 Click to enlarge |
| Acer, a surprise winner in the tabs race here. |
Why? A Little green man called Android carried by the likes of Samsung Galaxy Tab, Acer Iconia, Motorola Xoom and the soon to be released 7″ Amazon Kindle Fire, announced today.
Read OZ To Get New $199 Amazon Kindle Fire Tablet 50% Cheaper Than iPad Here
Shipments of the open OS, Google Android tripled in volume compared to the Jan-Mar quarter, accounting for “close to” 25% of the total market here.
“Australia and New Zealand media tablet market doubled in Q2 2011, driven by multiple launches of Android-based devices, and soon to be joined by other players globally such as the Amazon Kindle Fire,” IDC analysts said today.
Surprisingly Acer’s Iconia led the Android market in Q2 – being one of the “first few to launch a Honeycomb device.”
Read Samsung Galaxy Tab Apple’s Worst Fear Here
However, tab king Apple’s iPad 2 doubled its share in the period, owning 74.6% share of the pie.
iPad released in March last, was met with eager Aussies queuing overnight to get their mitts on the cult device, with IDC noting Apple’s huge Aussie invasion.
“The Apple user experience is now extended to an even larger audience with the additional [Apple] stores recently opened in Australia,” Yee-Kuan Lau Market Analyst.
The remaining 0.4% went to BlackBerry’s PlayBook, released in June. Tab demand was also heighted by the cut price sell of of Hewlett Packard Touch Pad on Web OS which sold here through Harvey Norman for just $98.
At least 300,000 Android’s are to hit Oz by the end of the year, IDC predicts. But Apple aren’t going anywhere and will still retain the lions portion – accounting for more than 70% marketshare.
“We expect the strong brand presence, the user experience and the halo effect to help maintain Apple’s dominance in the market despite the multiple launches of Android tablets.”
“The supply-side push from the new Android players, particularly amongst the traditional PC hardware vendors, like Acer, Asus “caused a large rollout of stock” into retailers to strengthen their brand presence.
 Click to enlarge |
| Amazon Kindle to set Android alight? |
“The market expansion was a combined effort of early adopters refreshing devices purchased last year and new users who were interested in a media tablet as a complementary device, with some waiting for more non-Apple variety,” said Yee-Kuan Lau, Market Analyst for IDC.
“That said, there is still strong demand for Apple’s iPad 2 since its launch at the end of March.”
iPad now accounts for a whopping 4 out of every five tabs bought in the US, figures released yesterday revealed.
And Apple V Android battle is being played out in Australian courts, demonstrating the epic battle currently going on between Android and Apple iOS eco-systems.
Amazon’s new Kindle Fire, announced in New York yesterday, positions Amazon to be “a leading digital media content seller that emphasises its application ecosystem” the analysts believe.
IDC expects approximately 1.3 m tablets shipped into the channel here by the end of the year.
