Consumer demand for tablet PCs in the third quarter in the UAE continues to witness a surge, recording 19.4% growth, amid a fall in computer sales. Consumers bought 474,179 tablets, while the commercial sector bought only 20,184 units during the quarter.
“There is a lot of aggression from the vendors’ side. Tablets are bundled as buy one get one free as well as with other products, especially during Gitex Shopper, and there is a big shift from PCs to tablets. Plus the refreshment cycle of tablets are faster than PCs,” observes Fouad R Charakla, research manager for personal computing, systems and infrastructure solutions at IDC Middle East, Turkey, and Africa.
A big education deal, which happened in the quarter, also boosted sales. Charakla added that low-cost manufacturers are seeing a surge in sales and eating into branded vendors’ market share.