According to the latest estimated from IDC, the tablet market saw 47.6 million units shipped worldwide during third quarter 2013, an up from 34.8 million the same quarter a year ago. Apple holds the first place while it saw a drop in market share to 29.6 percent. Samsung stands at second place and holding the market share to 20.4 percent. Asus, Lenovo and Acer took third, fourth and fifth place respectively with grabbing 7.4 percent, 4.8 percent and 2.5 percent market share.
“With two 7.9-inch models starting at $299 and $399, and two 9.7-inch models starting at $399 and $499, Apple is taking steps to appeal to multiple segments,” said Jitesh Ubrani, Research Analyst with IDC’s Tablet Tracker. “While some undoubtedly hoped for more aggressive pricing from Apple, the current prices clearly reflect Apple’s ongoing strategy to maintain its premium status. It’s worth noting that Apple wasn’t the only one to increase the price of its small-sized tablet during this product cycle: Both Google and Amazon increased the price of their newest 7-inch tablets from $199 to $229 to cover the higher costs associated with high resolution screens and better processors.”
