Out Of The Ashes: Productivity Features Kindle Growth In Burned-Out Tablet Market

The tablet market dipped once again in the second quarter, falling 7 percent from the same quarter last year due to longer life cycles and consumer preferences for phablets, according to market research firm IDC, Wednesday.

However, underdog vendors like Huawei, Lenovo and LG faced blowout rates of growth, representing a shifting landscape as vendors tap into enterprise clients with productivity tablet features.

"There's a lot of negativity around the tablet market, but there are still areas of growth, and vendors are keeping an eye out for this," Jitesh Ubrani, senior research analyst for IDC's Worldwide Mobile Device Trackers, told CRN. "The enterprise has a lot of room for growth, and vendors can excel in this market if they attack niche markets."

[Related: IDC: Winners And Losers In The Q2 Tablet Market]

id
unit-1659132512259
type
Sponsored post

Though Apple and Samsung paved out the forefront of the tablet space with 24.5 percent and 17 percent share, respectively, both companies faced declining shipments from the same quarter last year.

"Apple and Samsung drive the market as a whole ... so these vendors are affected by market declines, and one big reason is that their tablets don't change that much from generation to generation," Ubrani said.

Other vendors, meanwhile, stood in stark contrast with blowout growth rates for their tablet lines. Huawei and LG, though only taking 1.6 percent share of the market each, grew 103.6 percent and 246.4 percent year over year, respectively, according to IDC.

Ubrani attributed the successes of some companies to their tablet-based efforts with new form factors, such as 2-in-1s, as well as new added productivity features like multitasking tools.

For instance, those include LG's G Pad Android-based tablets featuring KnockCode security features that allow users to power on and unlock their devices securely, as well as a smart keyboard feature and Dual Window mode to view multiple apps at the same time.

Other companies have started to take on these productivity features. Apple, for instance, recently flaunted multitasking and QuickType tools specifically for its iPad products in its new iOS 9, while Samsung's new Galaxy Tab S2 contains Pop-Up Window features so users can utilize two apps at once, as well as compatibility to the third-party Book Cover Keyboard accessory.

That bodes well for value added resellers and solution providers, whose enterprise customers value productivity features.

Jay Gordon, vice president of sales at Enterprise Mobile, a Plano, Texas-based solution provider, said his company currently delivers managed mobility services for more than 300,000 tablets for their customers, and delivering device deployment, helpdesk and replacement services for tablet will continue to be a top priority.

"Company use of tablets is growing at a great rate," said Gordon. "Many of our customers see tablets as a logical investment to enable improved customer engagement and service, and employee productivity. Our customers have deployed a wide range of tablet types, most notably, the Apple iPad, Samsung Galaxy Tab and the Microsoft Surface."

"Factors that drive the tablet decision include application compatibility with the operating system, cost and key features, such as size and weight, battery life and integration with LTE wireless data service," he said.

John Convery, a vendor relations and marketing consultant to Denali Advanced Integration, a partner of Apple, Samsung and Lenovo, added that partners have an important part to play with solutions surrounding tablets.

"It’s not about the product, it’s the integration and solutions delivered," he said. "These alliance partners offer choice ... a declining tablet market represents a shift in customer usage [to] smartphones. Always, the customer will decide and drive market share."

PUBLISHED JULY 29, 2015