平板市場出貨量首次下滑，但是2015年成長仍可期

根據(jù)IDC統(tǒng)計數(shù)據(jù)，2014年第四季度平板市場出貨量達到7610萬臺，相對2013年第四季度的7860萬臺，衰減3.2%。這是自2010年以來首次出現(xiàn)季度出貨量同比下滑。

平板市場前五大廠商僅有聯(lián)想的出貨量實現(xiàn)同比增長，出貨量達到370萬臺，增長9.1%。蘋果同比下降17.8%，三星同比下降18.4%，華碩下降25%，而亞馬遜的Kindle Fire則暴跌了70%，季出貨量僅有170萬臺。

雖然第四季度銷量不佳，但是平板市場2014年整體出貨量再創(chuàng)新高，達到2.296億臺，比2013年增長4.4%。

平板市場銷量不佳的原因主要有幾點：首先，消費者更新平板的周期比智能手機長很多；其次，智能手機一般有運營商補助，價格可以賣得更低；另外，很多更新了平板的消費者把舊平板轉(zhuǎn)給親友，也抑制了部分消費。

但是IDC仍然看好明年的平板市場能夠繼續(xù)成長，IDC判斷成長的動力主要來自Windows 10的普及和大尺寸平板引發(fā)的換代。 具體內(nèi)容請參考原文。

Down go tablet shipments -- for the first time ever

by Don Reisinger

The tablet market has, since 2010, been soaring. But new data shows that things aren't so rosy any longer.

Total worldwide shipments of tablets and so-called 2-in-1 devices (hybrids of laptops and tablets) during the fourth quarter of 2014 hit 76.1 million units, declining by 3.2 percent compared to the 78.6 million tablets that headed to store shelves in the fourth quarter of 2013, IDC reported Monday. This was the first time that tablet shipments have declined since a wave of devices, including Apple's iPad, ignited the market in 2010, IDC said.

Nearly all of the major tablet vendors had a disappointing fourth quarter. While the iPad was the market leader in the fourth quarter with 21.4 million units shipped, that was down 17.8 percent compared with the year-earlier period. Second-place company Samsung, which offers a host of devices, including its Galaxy Tab line, saw shipments decline by 18.4 percent to 11 million units. Amazon suffered the worst year-over-year decline, with Kindle Fire units tumbling 70 percent to 1.7 million units shipped.

Lenovo was the only company in the top five to actually have a stronger fourth quarter as shipments rose 9.1 percent year over year to 3.7 million units. (The other member of the top five, Asus, saw shipments decline 25 percent.)

Tablets have been facing a wide range of competitive forces over the last couple of years. For one, many users don't upgrade to new tablets as frequently as they typically do with smartphones, sales of which have benefited from carrier subsidies that make for lower price tags. In addition, many studies indicate that owners who end up buying a new tablet give their old tablets to friends or relatives, reducing sales.

IDC, which slashed its forecast on tablet shipments last year, said that part of the problem in the tablet market in the fourth quarter was that it still relies too much on the two leaders, Apple and Samsung. The market's Achilles' heel, according to the research firm, is that it's "very top heavy."

Meanwhile, consumers have shown a keen interest in larger smartphones, also known as phablets, that approach the size of small tablets. During the fourth quarter, Apple saw phenomenal success in its first foray into that realm, with the big-screen iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, which led the company to record sales of 74.5 million iPhones overall.

"Although Apple expanded its iPad lineup by keeping around older models and offering a lower entry price point of $249, it still wasn't enough to spur iPad sales given the excitement around the launch of the new iPhones," IDC analyst Jitesh Ubrani said in a statement. "Meanwhile, Samsung's struggles continued as low-cost vendors are quickly proving that mid- to high-priced Android tablets simply aren't cut out for today's tablet market."

Last year, Apple CEO Tim Cook acknowledged that his company had hit a rough patch in tablets, saying that the space is "very bifurcated." Cook went on to say that while iPad sales are strong in emerging markets, in developed countries such as the US, "the market is clearly weaker."

Despite the troubles and the fourth-quarter decline, tablet shipments for the full year 2014 increased 4.4 percent to a total of 229.6 million units, according to IDC.

And that growth should continue in 2015, IDC said, thanks to several factors, including the launch of Windows 10 and a shift toward larger screen sizes.

None of the top tablet makers immediately responded to a request for comment.

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