Datawind is India’s biggest tablet maker, even without Aakash

BANGALORE: Britain-based hardware manufacturer Datawind, maker of the Indian government’s Rs 2,500 Aakash tablet, emerged as the leader of India’s tablet market during the first quarter of 2013, according to latest data from market research firm CyberMedia Research. 
During the January-March period, Datawind had about 15% market share in the tablet market, compared to homegrown firm Micromax that had about 12% share, according to the research firm. Datawind shipments do not include its sale of Aakash tablets to the government. 
Surprisingly, sales of tablet computers fell more than 17% in the first quarter of this year, even as consumers shift from desktop and laptops to touch-based devices. About 9,05,000 tablets were sold during the period compared to 1,097,902 units in the previous quarter. 
According to CyberMedia, nearly 10,000 tablets were shipped everyday during the January-March quarter and overall shipments recorded a 150% growth, compared to the same period last year. iPad maker Apple was in third place with a 12% market share. 
“The continued long-term growth in shipments of tablets in the India market further points to the fact that a large proportion of first time users of computers in emerging markets like India are getting to experience computing through this highly portable, converged form factor,” said Faisal Kawoosa, analyst at CyberMedia. 
Kawoosa said the fall in tablet sales is “not substantial” and it could be attributed to seasonality. According to the report, only nine tablet vendors shipped in significant volumes of more than 20,000 units during the period.