Having unveiled its debut tablet computer last month, Packard Bell has said it believes the number of players in the market will contract in the coming years, though actual sales figures will skyrocket. And the firm believes it and its sister-firm Acer are well placed to take significant share of this upsurge, even if the market is unable to maintain the current number of players.
This is coming on the heels of Acer launching its competitive Tab Iconia Tab W500 a few months ago.
“If you look at the predictions, the market will grow in the range of 100 per cent year-on-year in the coming years worldwide,” said Luca Rossi, PB vice president. “So that means there is an estimation of 50 million units in 2011, 100 million in 2012, and 150 million in 2013. So there will be exponential growth.”
“Personally I think there will be a concentration – the current market leader will continue with all the significant share. We have an aspiration for significant share as well. So I do not believe the market has room for everybody. Lets say the top three to four players will hold 90 or 95 per cent of the share. If you look at it this it is similar to the rest of the PC industry.”
However despite high hopes for its own tablet devices, Rossi does not believe that market leader Apple and its iPad can be dislodged from the top-spot anytime soon. “It is my personal opinion, that doesn’t necessarily reflect the corporate one, that Apple will continue to hold all the significant share. In the next year or two I don’t see any reason why they would lose the number one spot, but their dominance will be reduced significantly in terms of market share.”
Tekedia Mini-MBA edition 16 (Feb 10 – May 3, 2025) opens registrations; register today for early bird discounts.
Tekedia AI in Business Masterclass opens registrations here.
Join Tekedia Capital Syndicate and invest in Africa’s finest startups here.
Packard Bell is also currently making the final preparations for the release of a new one Two series all-in-one PC, namely the one Two S which features a 20-inch touchscreen, an ultra-slim, rounded design, and utilizes either Intel (2nd-gen Core) or AMD (up to a Phenom II X6) power. Set to be available in glossy black, matte white, chrome or silver, Acer’s all-in-one, can have integrated or discrete (AMD or Nvidia) graphics, a TV tuner, it boasts an optical drive, a 2 megapixel webcam, and is pre-loaded with multiple touch-enabled apps – TouchBrowser, TouchMusic, TouchPhoto, TouchVideo and TouchCam.