European Tablet Adoption Lags Behind Other Regions

Market analyst firm Canalys reported that global tablet shipments more than tripled year-on-year in Q1 2012. Vendors shipped 20.3 million tablets, representing 19% of all client PC shipments in the quarter. A year ago tablets accounted for just 7% of PC shipments. Adoption rates, however, vary significantly across regions, shaped by differing economic conditions and the resultant influence on consumer spending, as well as the availability of popular content through local app stores. North America remained the largest region by shipment volume (almost half of the global total), with tablets representing 36% of PCs shipped in the region. Asia Pacific was the second largest, rising 232% year-on-year to exceed 5 million units. But shipments in EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) of 4.7 million in Q1, and year-on-year growth of only 180%, mean the region is lagging behind.