If the PC industry was waiting for a reason to embrace the tablet, they need only talk to the folks at Canalys. The research firm – the first to view tablets as PCs – said Thursday PC sales experienced 187.9 percent year-over-year growth when the iPad was lumped in with sales.
Apple was displaced by Dell from the No. 3 spot it held during the last quarter of 2010 by just a measly 1.5 million units. However, the Cupertino, Calif.-based tech giant shipped 74 percent of the 6.4 million tablets sold during the first quarter, the research firm announced.
“Taking into consideration the iPad’s ‘halo effect’ on the company’s other products, Apple has grown considerably in most markets worldwide,” analyst Tim Coulling said. “As the iPad 2 and its competitors continue to roll out, we expect pad sales to propel PC market growth for the rest of the year,” he adds.
As Apple led the PC revolution, it appears the iPad maker will also lead the transformation to tablets. The slim majority of Dell (1.5 million) also reveals how important it will be for Apple to ensure a strong supply chain feeding consumers hungry for products.
[Fortune]
