Despite getting some mixed reviews in the press and highly variable pricing, the first major Android tablet, the Samsung Galaxy Tab has sold 1 million units in the two months since release, according to the Korean news site Chosun. Here is a quote from their article:
Sales of Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy Tab tablet PC have surpassed the one million mark just two months after its debut. Samsung said Thursday that thanks to the strong market response it has increased its sales target for the year to 1.5 million units.
Launched via Italy’s TIM in October, the device is now available through some 120 mobile carriers in 64 countries including Australia, France, the U.K. and the U.S. In the domestic market, the gadget has sold more than 100,000 units since it went on sale on Nov. 13.
While the Galaxy Tab’s chief rival the Apple iPad sold some two million units in two months, Samsung’s device has performed well amid the cutthroat competition considering its fewer applications.
Samsung is planning to expand the line by introducing a model with a 10-inch display in the first half of next year.
What does this mean? Well, Koreans have accounted for 10% of all sales, which is a definite show of local market support. But for the rest of the world, it shows that people have definitely warmed to the idea of using a tablet device as a PC companion.
Some will naturally insinuate that this is a rebuke of Steve Jobs and his statements about 7″ tablets, but I don’t see it as a zero-sum game, rather I see it showing that the market is hungry for devices delivering more than what is easily done on a small phone screen. For me the big ‘loser’ is netbooks and low-end laptops and ereaders, as more and more people seem to be realizing that there is a lot you can do without a full PC, that carrying a phone and a computer and a ereader is a hassle, and also that these tablet devices are every bit as capable as netbooks … sometimes moreso!
Source: Chosun via Android Community via Geeky Gadgets