iBall tops Indian tablet market: Report

Domestic electronics company iBall has topped the Indian tablet market in the fourth quarter (October-December) of 2014, dislodging South Korean giant Samsung, an International Data Corporation (IDC) report said Monday.

Domestic electronics company iBall has topped the Indian tablet market in the fourth quarter (October-December) of 2014, dislodging South Korean giant Samsung, an International Data Corporation (IDC) report said Monday.

iBall had the maximum market share with 15.6% followed by Samsung (12.9%), Datawind (9.6%), Lenovo (9.4%), and HP (8.7%) while others had 43.8%.

'iBall rapidly climbed its way to the number one spot in this quarter. From a 4.5% share in Q4 2013, the brand has more than tripled its share in Q4 2014. Its growth is backed by low cost products targeted at consumers looking to own entry level form factors. The brand is actively engaged in expanding its retail presence as well as geographical reach,' IDC said in a statement here.

IDC is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets.

Overall, the Indian tablet market reported shipments of 0.96 million units in Q4, a quarter-on-quarter growth of 3.6%.

'The market saw a correction post the introduction of BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) regulation in July 2013. Unbranded tablets were wiped off from the market, thereby contracting the bubble of growth witnessed in the first half of 2013 and resulting in year-on-year decline in growth,' said Tanvi Mann, market analyst at Client Devices IDC India.

The report also said 7-inch tablets placed in less than $150 price band populate the market and would continue to do so in the foreseeable future.

'While Android still has majority of the pie, we do see vendors exploring the 8-9 inch windows form factor.'

'Consumers are driving the wave of adoption of low cost tablets as a preferred mobility solution. We are also witnessing a higher inclination of consumers towards online buying platforms and vendors are keeping up with the trend,' said Kiran Kumar, research manager at Client Devices IDC India.

'The consumer space will continue to be led by the local brands and we may see re-entry of some of the older players in the top five vendor list. On a yearly basis, we expect 2015 to post a single digit growth over 2014,' it added.