The low cost tablet market in 2012 will reach $3.44bn

Rating: Cheaper products offer comparable UI to the iPad, says Visiongain

Tablets used to be considered to be high-end and luxury consumer devices. That has all changed over the last two years. Hence, last year [2012] Visiongain Telecoms introduced an in-depth analysis of the tablet sector. The report is entitled, ‘The Low Cost Tablets Market 2012-2017′. Visiongain has determined that the value of the global low cost tablets market in 2012 will reach $3.44 billion. The company classifies low cost tablets as being available on the market priced at or below $250.

Visiongains says that Apple’s dominance in the tablet market is slowly being eroded by competitor brands offering tablets with similar specifications and features at a significantly lower price point.

It argues that sales figures have shown incontestably that until 2010 no vendor was able to compete with Apple at a level price.

Apple markets the iPad as a premium product offered at a premium selling price.

While many new entrants created similar devices at the same price point (HP TouchPad and Samsung Galaxy Tab) they failed to take significant market share away from the incumbent.

Nowadays, if a vendor can provide a comparable UI and positive user experience while offering a lower price point, it is deemed to be a very competitive product in the low-cost tablet segment.

Which is exactly why the low cost tablet industry has evolved at a rapid pace, maintaining the user experience while cutting the costs, Visiongain says.

To prepare this report Visiongain consulted widely with industry experts and a full transcript of one of these exclusive interviews is included in the report.

As well as identifying the leading suppliers, the report also offers qualitative analysis including global, sub-market and national markets forecasts from 2012-2017.

Prices start at £1,699 for a single user license.