ANZ tablet market on a growth tear: analysts

Australians and New Zealanders are continuing to choose tablets over PCs this year, the latest set of figures from analysts IDC show. 

For the first quarter of this year, sales of tablets skyrocketed to 1.14 million units. This is an increase of 147 per cent over the year and was driven mainly by demand for small and cheap Android tablets IDC said, as well as Windows devices.

Apple remains the dominant player in the tablet market, but the Californian company's market share in Australia and New Zealand is shrinking.

Samsung is the number one force in the Android market, according to IDC analyst Susan Tai. So-called whitebox tablets sold by retailers such as Aldi, Harvey Norman, K-Mart and Warehouse Stationery also do well, Tai said.

Microsoft is also gaining a foothold in the tablet market IDC believes, with new devices running Windows. The Surface Pro, which became available in Australia and New Zealand at the end of May this year, "is bound to spark fierce battles among tablet vendors," Tai said.

Overall, IDC expects the tablet market in Australia and New Zealand to grow by 46 per cent this year over 2012, thanks to new devices, commercial uptake of tablets as well as price drops and users substituting them for PCs.

Australia-NZ tablets OS market share. Source: IDC. Windows OS includes Windows 7, 8 and RT