iPad triples tablet sales in Europe as PC prices go back up
updated 12:50 pm EDT, Fri July 9, 2010
iPad overwhelms Tablet PC in Euro sales
The iPad nearly tripled sales of tablets in Europe during just its first month on sale, Context Research estimated this week. Apple's tablet was only available from May 28 in the continent, but by itself grew the market by 257 percent. The figure is one of the few specific to the continent and suggests that the combined Windows tablet PC market in Europe for spring was well below the hundreds of thousands of iPads likely to have been sold.
Analysts also noted that the season saw a rare rebound in otherwise falling computer prices. The typical cost of a computer increased three percent to 457 euros ($577) and may also have had an Apple influence. Gains were credited partly to better sales of "higher priced all-in-one consumer PCs," of which Apple is usually considered the leader through the iMac. Most other all-in-ones on sale today include HP's TouchSmart line, some Sony VAIO desktops, and cheap nettops using Atom processors.
Other factors at play were a renewed interest in typically more expensive corporate notebooks as well as a drop in the value of the euro, forcing prices closer to the US dollar. [via The Register]
