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发帖数: 25274 | 1 http://finance.yahoo.com/news/apple-ipad-faces-rising-challenge
Apple (AAPL) may have surged ahead with tablet sales but the competition is
heating up in China with increased shipments at ultra-low prices giving
consumers more options than the sector-defining iPad.
The iPad, and its derivatives currently hold around a 80 percent of market
share in the country, according to Chinese analysis firm Umeng. Analysts
from investment bank Nomura recently visited Shenzen and sampled Apple's
white-box rivals - products that are created by one company and can be
rebranded by another.
"We found many iPad-like white-box tablets in Hua Qiang Bei, Shenzhen's
largest consumer electronics mall. These products are sold at retail prices
ranging between CNY400-1200 ($65 - $195)," Nomura researchers Leping Huang
and David Hao said in a research note.
(Read More: Apple Announces New iPad With More Storage )
Cheaper rivals are a big threat for Apple because China is now the company's
fastest growing market. Apple's revenue from Greater China grew 67 percent
year-on-year in the first quarter, far outpacing growth of 15 percent in the
Americas and 11 percent in Europe.
Plus, the competition in China isn't using older technology. The 7.85 inch
Ramos X10 which retails at around $145, has the latest quad-core processing
technology, and is considerably cheaper than the iPad Mini, priced around $
340.
Apple iPad competitors in China are also using the latest screen technology,
according to Nomura, giving them improved color and viewing angles. All
added it up, it means it's harder to differentiate between tablet models,
Nomura said. Other competitors it cited were the Yuandao N90 ($145), Ainol
NOVO10 Hero ($160), the Teclast A11 ($193).
(Read More: Is China Trying to Take Apple Down? )
Worldwide shipments of tablets are set to more than double over the next
three years as mobile devices eclipse personal computers. Global shipments
are forecast to total 197 million units in 2013, a 69.8 percent increase
from 2012 shipments of 116 million units, according to research firm Gartner
, and reach 468 million in 2017.
"Lower prices, form factor variety, cloud update and consumers' addiction to
apps will be the key drivers in the tablet market," Ranjit Atwal, research
director at Gartner said in a press release as the data was released.
"Growth in the tablet segment will not be limited to mature markets alone.
Users in emerging markets who are looking for a companion to their mobile
phone will increasingly choose a tablet as their first computing device and
not a PC."
In emerging markets, like China and India, tablet shipments more than
doubled in 2012 over the previous year, according to IDC Insights.
(Read More: Best Buy Slashes iPad 3 Price, Sets Samsung Store Date )
"The market in China is very polarized. The high end wants iPad and [it's]
the low end that turns to white-box. Nothing in between is really picking up
in China," Carolina Milanesi, an analyst for Gartner told CNBC.com.
"Users look at tablets as a cheaper computing device rather than a status
device for the time being and quality has improved dramatically over the
past year. We also need to remember that hardware is the most important part
over ecosystem."
But Nomura does have some reservations about the hardware when looking in
more detail at the white-box products that are flooding the Chinese market.
"Although the responsiveness of these models is good in general, our
discussions with retailers indicate that battery quality is a major concern
on these models," it said in the report.
"We heard that some white-box vendors use smaller size or poorer quality
battery or PC-type memory in order to save costs, which in the end may hurt
consumers' confidence in this product category."
White-box smartphones account for over 500 million units a year, according
to Gartner's Milanesi, and are far from being edged out by bigger brands.
She expects white-box tablets to be less important but certainly play a role
in future market share. | k**o
发帖数: 15334 | 2 不要太多，所有卖得好的电话，pad都有仿版的，外形，包装，操作系统
都与真品一模一样。只是硬件配置不如真的。 |
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