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March 8, 2012
Apple’s newest tablet device was publicly unveiled yesterday, and while any creation from Cupertino is bound to generate excitement, the new iPad looks like it will live up to the hype.
With a high-definition “retina display,” which those who have seen it say is visually superior to all others on the market (at least until the next Samsung Galaxy Tab is unveiled), as well as a processor upgrade that Apple promises will offer four times the performance of the iPad 2, allowing graphics-heavy games to run smoothly, this tablet has the specs (or the “magic,” to use Apple-speak) to become the next must-have device in Asia-Pacific, where the iconic Apple logo has become a status symbol. It will be on sale on March 16 in four Asia-Pacific markets: Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan and Australia.
The iPad so far has dominated the global tablet market. No other competitor has come close to Apple in tablet unit sales, and these improvements to the iPad should further solidify Apple’s lead over competitors. At about $499, the starting price of the new iPad is the same as the original starting price of the iPad 2, which will be dropped to about $399 to make it more appealing to a more price-conscious consumer base, including possibly the education market.
While either version of the iPad is out of the price range of most consumers in Asia-Pacific, Apple’s pricing strategy lends an aura of exclusivity that many people crave. We expect tablet unit sales in Asia-Pacific to grow by 114% in 2012, largely driven by iPad demand, reaching 24.1m unit sales by year end.
To read more about this topic, please see my recently published Insider, Asia-Pacific Tablet Sales to Skyrocket, Driven by Emerging Markets.
— Emily Smith, Analyst
Related resources:
3G in China: Operator Strategies Are Key to Adoption
Telecom Insider published February 2012
In this report, we examine the role Chinese operators play in extending the reach of 3G devices, how the operators drive 3G services with new and innovative value-added services and their involvements in different levels of the value chain to enhance products and services.
Asia-Pacific Mobile Demand Forecast
Forecasts published quarterly
Our Mobile Demand Forecast products provide complete pictures of demand trends for 15 geographical markets in Asia Pacific. The Excel output includes five years of historical data and five years of market projections for metrics such as GDP, mobile penetration, subscriptions (by operator, type of package, technology), ARPS and total mobile service revenue (data and voice). The Forecasts are based on extensive field research and use a consistent methodology across all markets, aiming to capture the total spending, from an end-user perspective, on mobile communication services in each market. Data from these Forecasts is available online for subscribers to our DataTracker service.
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