Fewer people buying tablets in Singapore as large-screen smartphones catch on

25 per cent drop in shipments as bigger-screen smartphones catch on

MRT commuters using their mobile devices. Fewer people are buying tablet mobile devices these days as they turn to bigger-screen smartphones for their communication and entertainment needs.      

                                  

FEWER people are buying tablet mobile devices these days as they turn to bigger-screen smartphones for their communication and entertainment needs.

The number of tablets shipped to Singapore fell 25 per cent to 255,000 units in the first quarter of this year from the same period last year, according to preliminary figures from market research firm IDC Asia Pacific.

This drop was sharper than the shipment decline in the fourth quarter of last year - when the tablet market dipped for the first time year on year.

During the last three months of 2013, 270,500 tablets were shipped, a 5 per cent decrease from the same period the year before.
----- The Straits Times (Singapore)   5 May 2014