By Alexander Villafania
MAKATI CITY, METRO MANILA - Demand for tablet PCs among Asia Pacific countries is expected to grow in the next five years and is expected to hit 21 million units by 2015, according to research firm International Data Corporation (IDC).
The IDC report said tablet PC growth will be marked by usage for gaming, Internet-browsing, and social networking.
The countries covered by the report are Australia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Korea, New Zealand, the Philippines, People's Republic of China, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam.
Of these countries, Korean, Taiwan, and Australia are said to have high interest in mobile tablet PCs while China demonstrates high purchasing power for such products.
Emerging countries in this region are more conservative towards tablet PCs, preferring to have small form factor notebooks or netbooks, which gives them more familiarity with desktop computers.
Melissa Chau, IDC Asia Pacific research manager for client devices, said tablet PC demand became more active in Asia Pacific with the launch of the iPad 2 early this year.
Aggressive pricing and strong branding put Apple at the forefront of the tablet PC market, inevitably putting other brands on the niche markets.
Chau stressed that the demand for tablet PCs could also come from the education sector as governments and educational institutions mull over the use of technology to deliver learning modules. This should drive competition even more as other brands will have to innovate to secure a foothold in the tablet market.
“Over the next five years, Apple will set the pace for the media tablet category. Competitors to iPad must innovate ways to differentiate their products though, lest consumer interest wanes in favor of the next tech gadget,” Chau said.
In the Philippines, tablet PCs, particularly the iPad and Samsung Galaxy Tab, are being bundled with monthly or annual Internet service by telecommunications providers.
Likewise, the Department of Education (DepEd) has started experimenting on the use of tablet PCs for education. Some private institutions have also skipped the use of books with iPads for learning.
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