Lenovo dethrones Datawind to top Indian tablet market

Chinese technology major Lenovo has become market leader in the Indian tablet market replacing Datawind with 21 per cent share in the second half of 2017, with Samsung sharing the second position with Datawind at 16 per cent, a new report said on Friday.

According to CyberMedia Research's "India Tablet PC Market Review", Datawind lost a massive 15 per cent market share from the first half of 2017 when it registered 31 per cent share.

Lenovo's rise is attributed to strong B2B sales. Lenovo witnessed 114 per cent sequential growth in its shipments. Shipments of Samsung witnessed 39 per cent sequential growth whereas Datawind's shipments declined sequentially by 35 per cent. 

"The second half of 2017 witnessed surge in B2B sales where Government was key buyer and education vertical remained leading contributor. This half year witnessed growth of tablet adoption in financial services sector," Narinder Kumar, Lead Analyst, CyberMedia Research, said in a statement.

Overall, the India tablet market recorded 28 per cent growth in the second half in which a total of 1.8 million unit were shipped. 

According to Kumar, restaurants and fast food sector emerged as a key area for tablet consumption, mainly driven by online food ordering. Shipments of 4G Tablets recorded 51 per cent sequential growth with Lenovo shipping almost half of 4G tablets in the time frame.

The entry-level tablets (below Rs 5,000) clocked 35 per cent decline. 4G became leading technology, while 3G and 2G tablets witnessed decline in their respective market shares.
 
"Tablets in price range of Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 became major contributor with 47 per cent market share with 118 per cent sequential growth accredited to B2B business of Lenovo and Acer. Shipments of Rs 20, 000 to Rs 30,000 grew doubled fold on its small base due to improved sales of Apple," the report said.