Media
tablet shipments surpassed netbook shipments in Q2 2011, reaching 13.6 million
units, compared to 7.3 million netbooks. Netbooks had previously led the way
with 8.4 million shipments in Q1 2011, compared to 6.4 million media tablets.

“This
is a trend that we do not expect will reverse. As they are different segments,
this is not a direct replacement behavior, but a changing of leadership for the
most interesting device type,” said Jeff Orr, group director, mobile devices,
ABI Research.

Driving
media tablet interest is Apple’s iPad 2. 68 percent of the media tablet
shipments in Q2 2011 consisted of Apple iPad models.

Consumers
are choosing tablets over netbooks for a number of reasons. Media tablets are
perceived to be easy to use, compared to the keyboard and mouse interface of a
netbook computer. Those who have avoided PCs because they are difficult to use – think the Baby Boomer generation and older – see media tablets as an
opportunity to re-engage with Internet access.

“Cost,
however, is certainly not a reason driving tablet interest, as the average
media tablet costs approximately $600 and the average netbook is only about
half of that,” Orr added.

While
32 million netbooks and 60 million media tablets are expected to ship worldwide
in 2011, netbooks still hold interest in underserved countries, where PC
penetration to the home, along with broadband services, are not widely
available. Media tablet shipments will primarily cater to the early-adopter
consumer audiences of Western Europe, the US, Japan, and South Korea.

By
Telecomlead.com Team
[email protected]