Analyst: Fall in iPad shipments in Q1 was the sharpest ever

Tablet computer which falls in between smartphone and notebook has not seen the same level of growth in recent quarters compared to previous quarters. Market researcher Canalys has shared the below latest analysis on tablet sales worldover: Worldwide client PC shipments reached 123.7 million units in Q1 2014, up 5% year on year. Growth in tablet shipments slowed to 21%, yet at 50.8 million units they continue to out-ship notebooks. Tablets accounted for 41% of the market, notebooks 38%. The worldwide decline in notebooks slowed to 7% as Western Europe continued to grow and North America remained flat, partly due to commercial sales improving in both regions. Commercial shipments the world over have been lifted by the end of life of Windows XP, a trend that also influenced desktops, helping shipments to remain flat year on year. Notably, however, notebooks and desktops in China, the world’s second largest PC market, declined 13% and 6% respectively compared with the previous year. In the tablet market, there was strong growth in the Middle East (100%), Greater China (74%) and Central and Eastern Europe (47%), and while more modest, there was positive growth in all other regions with the exception of North America. The US market was adversely affected by a drop in Apple iPad shipments, which fell 40%. This was offset somewhat by 20% growth in China, Apple’s second largest ...