IDC: Tablet PCs fight for space in mobile device arena

By Alun Williams

Posted on 18 Mar 2003 at 16:50

Strong demand has been seen in the US for the Tablet PC, but less so in Western Europe and Asia.

According to the latest figures from IDC, the research company, 70,000 Tablet PCs have now been shipped worldwide. While seeing this as a promising start for the new design, IDC notes that penetration into the corporate segment is still at least six to 12 months away. This is seen as critical for widespread tablet adoption.

IDC states that the initial shipment volume represents a good start at establishing a place within the crowded mobile device arena.

The figures cover only six weeks of potential shipments - the Tablet PC's official launch was 7 November 2002. The Tablet PC is still in its infancy, IDC emphasises, and it predicts strong growth in shipments for 2003.

This future growth for Tablet PCs will be driven, IDC believes, by increased marketing efforts from OEMs and Microsoft, and a steady refining of product lines - new models will be more attractive to a wider cross section of users.

'Driven by strong demand for portable PCs, the initial U.S. lead in tablet PC shipments is not surprising,' said Alan Promisel, research analyst at IDC. 'However, Western Europe, Japan, and Asia/Pacific continue to represent markets with great potential. In Asia, the form factor's ability to deal with Asian language input more easily than traditional keyboard-equipped notebooks remains a powerful driver'.