According to Joen Yang, a senior research analyst of Taiwan's MIC (Market Intelligence & Consulting Institute), an ICT industry research institute based in Taipei, there were only few newly-launched models on the market. "ASUS released a low-cost tablet priced at around US$129 at Computex 2013 and swept the market off its feet. Actual benefits of this low-cost device to the company's second-quarter shipment volume, however, were not seen as the new tablet was launched in late second quarter". "With its aim to continue the growth momentum stemming from the strong sales of low-cost models in the first quarter of 2013, Acer rolled out a 7.9" low-cost model in the second quarter and received good market acceptance". "As a result, Acer witnessed 9.5% sequential growth in shipment volume in the second quarter of 2013", noted Joen Yang. Meanwhile, as Taiwanese makers' major clients such as Apple, Samsung and Amazon only sold existing models in the second quarter of 2013, shipment volume of the Taiwanese tablet industry declined 27.6% sequentially.

As for shipment value, affected by the increasing share of low-cost models, tablet ASP (Average Selling Price) dropped 7.5% sequentially in the second quarter of 2013 from US$227 to US$210. Owing to declines in both shipment volume and ASP, shipment value of the Taiwanese tablet industry slipped to a record low in the past two years to US$4.69 billion, down 33% compared to the first quarter of 2013.

Tablet Shipment Volume to Pick Up in 2H 2013

In the second quarter of 2013, traditionally the period where older models are replaced by new ones, shipment volume of the overall tablet industry declined significantly. In anticipation of the rollouts of several new models by major brands such as Apple, Samsung, Amazon, and Google in the second half of the year, and the growing demand for tablets towards the year-end holiday season, the global tablet market volume is estimated to increase 5.6% in the second half of 2013 compared to the first. Accordingly, shipment volume of Taiwanese tablet industry will also see 6.1% growth.

Taiwanese Tablet Shipment Volume by Operation System                   Unit: Thousand

Source: MIC, September 11, 2013

To see more about this report, please visit: The Taiwanese Tablet Industry, 3Q 2013.

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About MIC

Market Intelligence & Consulting Institute (MIC), based in Taipei, Taiwan, was founded in 1987. MIC is Taiwan's premier IT industry research and consulting firm providing intelligence, in-depth analysis, and strategic consulting services on global IT product and technology trends, focusing on markets and industries in Asia-Pacific. MIC is part of the Institute for Information Industry. https://mic.iii.org.tw/english