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Lenovo, Asus drive global Q3 tablet growth

Strategy Analytics says Lenovo and Asus are becoming important players in the tablet industry, and have prompted improved sales figures in Q3 2014.
Written by Charlie Osborne, Contributing Writer
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Lenovo and Asus have underpinned a boost in tablet sales across the third quarter, according to preliminary research released by Strategy Analytics.

The research firm's report (payment required) claims that total tablet shipments across Q3 2014 reached 55.2 million units, up six percent from 52 million year-on-year. Tablet sales increased five percent quarter-on-quarter.

Although market leadership remains firmly in the grasp of Apple and Samsung, it is smaller vendors — Lenovo and Asus — which have provided "sufficient product differentiation to drive shipments." Lenovo, for example, recently launched the Yoga 3 Pro ultrabook and Yoga Tablet 2, both of which run on the Windows operating system.

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While iOS snagged a market share of 22.3 percent, Android continued to climb, reaching a dominant seat of 72 percent in the tablet market. Windows, forever the limping horse, still managed to attain its highest-ever level of market share at six percent as more models running the operating system become available, including the Microsoft Surface Pro 3.

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Peter King, Strategy Analytics' Tablet Service Director commented:

The momentum is building in the Enterprise and vertical markets. Future tablet growth will depend on enterprise-class devices used for productivity rather than media consumption. Microsoft just recently announced it is putting its full and sustained support behind the ongoing Surface program and the Partner vendors are also supporting Windows Tablets. The next iteration, Windows 10 is expected to drive Tablet shipments even further.

White Box manufacturers continue to contribute a large percentage of the Android market share by offering a wide range of tablets in a wide range of screen sizes, connectivity and price points, simultaneously improving quality and specifications.

Read on: In the enterprise

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