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Japan's demand for tablets jumped 104 percent in 2012

Apple leading the charge

Japan's demand for tablets jumped 104 percent in 2012
Japan isn't a country ruled entirely by smartphones and smartphone gaming, despite what the success of GungHo's Puzzle & Dragons might lead you to think.

Tokyo-based MM Research Institute released a few figures on tablets that showed the number of units shipped domestically grew 104 percent from fiscal 2011 to fiscal 2012 for a total of 5.68 million units shipped.

In that 5.68 million, Apple's iPad was the pre-eminent tablet manufacturer in Japan for the third straight year.

Despite this hegemony, however, the Android presence in Japan is growing strongly and commands 42.4 percent of the tablet OS market.



Of course, the Android segment - while fast growing - is split between many different manufacturers.



While the jump in tablet sales is impressive, the number of phones sold in Japan is reportedly 5-6 times higher than the number of tablets sold during the last fiscal year.

Where the growing demand for tablets really matters, however, is in the area of PC sales.

Despite the launch of Windows 8 in October, PC sales in Japan dropped 1.1 percent to 11.15 million units.

MM Research predicts that Japanese tablet sales will continue to increase year after year, growing to 9.5 million in fiscal 2015. If the PC sales slump continues at a similar rate, tablets will outsell PCs in Japan in a little over two years.

[source: Serkan Toto]

US Correspondent

Representing the former colonies, Matt keeps the Pocket Gamer news feed updated when sleepy Europeans are sleeping. As a frustrated journalist, diehard gamer and recovering MMO addict, this is pretty much his dream job.