iPad Sales Have Reached a Plateau
The gadget is a hit, but its share of the market for tablet computers fell sharply last quarter, as Android devices surged.
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The numbers are deceptive.
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Apple shipped 20 percent more iPads in the past three months, PC World reports. But a report Friday from Strategy Analytics showed Apple's market share for tablet computers fell from 96 percent to 67 percent. Android devices are closing in on one-third of the market, at 27 percent.
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The upshot is likely a price-cut for iPads, to stay competitive with devices like Amazon's Kindle Fire, which will retail for $199.
So if Apple wants to compete in that mainstream market, Mainelli maintained, it's going to need to augment its media tablet lineup with lower-priced products. That doesn't necessarily mean introducing something like a seven-inch iPad, as has been suggested by some observers. Apple can simply adopt the strategy it has used for its iPhone lineup, Mainelli noted.
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"Lower-priced iPads would increase Apple's total available market, and would give competitors already reeling from Amazon's $199 product announcement yet another reason to lose sleep at night," he added.
