Over 1.4 million units of tablets were purchased by South Africans in a span of three years, said research firm World Wide Worx. The study, which counted sales from June 2010 until last month, the study confirmed the domination of global tablet kings Apple and Samsung.
The South African market reached the one millionth mark after only two years, signaling the local industry's adaptation to the global shift to handheld computing. Unlike other countries, Apple lead the tablet race in South Africa with a 45% share of the market, equal to over 600,000 iPads successfully sold. Samsung followed closely with 39%, equal to 545,000 units.
The research firm's founder, Arthur Goldstuck, explained the results. "As is the case internationally, Samsung was helped along by an astonishing variety of formats, from the smaller 7", 7.7" and 8" Galaxy Tabs and Galaxy Notes to 8.9" and 10.1" versions of the same brands. However, no single model of any Samsung tablet has outsold any of the iPads,"
South Africa is an emerging market with a robust tech industry, comparable to highly competitive economies such as India and Southeast Asia.
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