In depth: The demise of the tablet has been greatly exaggerated

The demise of the tablet has been exaggerated

The argument goes something like this: Apple dominated the tablet market, but now it's selling fewer iPads, so it will make a six-inch phablet instead. While many are jumping to conclusions that this means tablets are dead the facts show that the tablet's demise has been greatly exaggerated.

This doesn't mean that that Apple won't add a bigger phone to its arsenal. The rumours that Apple will produce a bigger iPhone won't go away, largely because the oversized phone/tablet (or phablet, if you really must) is massive in Asia, where Samsung is preparing to release a whopping seven-inch device.

Does this mean we are living in a post-iPad era, though? Ronan Cremin, CTO of mobile web company dotMobi doesn't think so, not yet at least.

"We have not reached the post-iPad era, though Apple and the iPad no longer dominate the competition," he says. "Our device usage figures show strong growth in Android use across the globe with 2,190 different Android-based tablets being tracked."

In short, it's starting to be all about Android. Over 195 million tablets were sold worldwide in 2013, an increase of a massive 68% on 2012, but it's Android tablets that are taking over.

In 2012 Android held 46% of the market. By 2013 that figure had grown to 62%. Apple closed 2013 with a 36% stake in the tablet space – and declining. "Of the 101 countries across the world where data is tracked, iOS devices dominated browsing in 34, while Android comes out on top in some 67 nations," confirms Cremin.

Whatever the operating system though, it's pretty obvious that we're all crazy about tablets.

iPads 'unlikely to go away'

The tablet trend-setter, however, shouldn't be written off. "The iPad still represents a beautifully produced, and highly intuitive state of the art product in the midst of the Apple device ecosystem, that is unlikely to go away anytime soon," says Jeremy Silver, ex-EMI and Virgin Records music industry executive, Advisor to the UK Technology Strategy Board and author of Digital Medieval.

"Never underestimate Apple's willingness to adapt," he says. "The splitting of the iPhone 5 into the S and C-class phones was the kind of thing Steve Jobs swore that the company would never do, but with consumer behaviour changing extremely quickly, Apple will be looking to adapt and advance in as many innovative ways as it can."

But perhaps iPad isn't as far behind its rivals as it might appear. The tablet trading industry in the UK is still in its infancy, but it's so far all about the iPad.

"A week after the iPad Air launch we saw a 585% increase in trade-ins, as gadget fans rushed to recycle their old devices in exchange for the new one," says Keir McConomy, Founder of SellMyMobile.com.

The most traded in tablet this year at Sellmymobile.com is the Apple iPad 2 16GB, followed by the Cellular version, the Apple iPad 3 16GB, the Apple iPad Mini 16GB and the Apple iPad 4 16GB.

Surrounded entirely by Apple devices, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 stands alone in seventh position. "Android users hang on to their tablets longer than they do with smartphones," says McConomy, whose business is picking-up. He says that before 2013 there were surges in trade-ins only around big smartphone launches, not tablets.

Pensioners love tablets

The iPad may have peaked, but the tablet certainly has not. Ofcom reported last month that in the past 12 months there had been a three-fold increase in the use of tablet computers going online in the UK.

Ofcom's Adults' Media Use and Attitudes Report found that an increased use of tablets was behind a 25% increase in the number of people aged 65 and over accessing the internet.

In the 65-74 age group alone the use of tablets shot up from 5% in 2012 to 17% in 2013, though in the population at large almost a third of us use a tablet.

However, there are some clues in the report that tablets just aren't as 'sticky' as smartphones. Ofcom found that the device that people 'would miss most' is the smartphone, at a whopping 42%. Next comes the TV. The tablet's nowhere in sight.

Trading figures follow that trend, too. "We're still not seeing the same volume of trade-ins around tablet devices as we do for smartphones," says McConomy.

Does that merely suggest that people are holding on to their tablet devices for longer than they are with smartphones?

§"This may be because tablets are standing the test of time from a tech perspective, and people aren't as hungry to trade them in," says McConomy. "Or it may be because tablets tend to be shared devices, so they may be passed down to other family members over time, or just held on to as spare devices around the house."

Phablets not a phad

The future could belong to the phablet. Ostensibly a smartphone with a massive screen of between 5-6.9 inches, Deloitte thinks that 'phablets are not a phad' and will represent a whopping 25% of all smartphones sold in 2014 – that's 300 million. They're big in China and South Korea, where 25 million were shifted last year, with sales doubling every quarter. But, as Cremin says: "Their popularity is growing beyond Asia."

It's no wonder; for many people a large-screen phone can do the job of a tablet and more.

So the tablet isn't going away, it's just getting smaller. "Asian markets have often championed miniaturisation, and in this case, it's the tablet that's being shrunk – and the phone functionality is the crucial addition," says Silver, who suggests that a single does-it-all device is bound to appeal more to people with less to spend. In short, it's the fast-growing markets in Asia that call the shots.

There are also practical characteristics to think about. "The old fashioned book market provides a good analogy," says Silver. "When it comes to readability, portability and sheer weight in your bag, the paperback phablet will always outsell the tablet hardback."

If phablets have got entertainment sewn-up, then perhaps the tablet's future is as a productivity device. "While tablets may have been initially introduced as entertainment devices, there has always been an undercurrent of people trying to use them as productivity tools," says Guillaume Field, EMEA Marketing Manager, End User Solutions at Dell.

Field adds that new Windows-based devices have business-grade security and network connectivity as well as an ecosystem of peripherals – keyboards, mice and docking stations. "We have also seen the rise of different form factors including detachable 2-in-1s, which offer the ease of a tablet with the productivity of a PC," adds Paul Hicks, PC Product Manager Northern Europe, Toshiba.

Not everyone thinks tablets have lost their luster for making entertainment engaging and immersive, however. "A variety of innovative album apps from the likes of Bjork and Lady Gaga, along with custom versions of streaming services, have made tablets interesting playgrounds for those wanting to enhance the value of music offerings," says Silver.

Apps that ape analogue recording equipment like mixing desks and recordings effects boxes that are only practical on tablets. "The sheer, minimalist appeal of producing music – either for recording or performance – on something as small and elegant as a tablet has drawn many fans from the creative community," says Silver.

Upsize to survive

Another way tablets are being differentiated is by getting bigger; cue Samsung's 12.2-inch NotePRO, the 13-inch Toshiba Excite 13 and Panasonic's 20-inch, Ultra HD 4K-resolution Toughpad 4K UT-MA6 Performance. Pricey and not particularly portable, these are super-niche products for architects and graphic designers. "There is certainly a market for larger tablet screen sizes, and we've seen this to some extent with detachable laptop form factors," says Hicks, "but mainstream sizes of 7-10-inch tablets will continue to dominate due to their portability."

"At that size they start to occupy a much more desk centric role," says Cremin, who wonders whether they should be called tablets at all. "There's an ever growing list of connected devices that allow people to access and use content in different circumstances … and a greater amount of people will connect via a greater amount of devices in the future for this very reason," he says.

Small tablets and big phones, fonblets and phablets, iPads and iPhones – it's all just marketing semantics because they're all essentially the same thing; touchscreen devices. "Ultimately it doesn't matter what their name is as long as they serve a purpose," says Cremin. He's right – and tablets of some kind will be around for many years yet.

from Techradar - All the latest technology news http://ift.tt/QhF1Yp