Seems that Google has more reasons to celebrate, as GfK Asia has announced that Android powered tablets are apparently the device of choice for developing ASEAN nations (which includes us). The report states that most tablets bought last year in countries like Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam were powered by Android OS. Two out of three tablets purchased in the region were powered by Android, and the research firm expects this upward trend to continue this year. In fact, in the first two months of the year Android powered tablets have already managed to rack up 243 million dollars in sales, further climbing in its volume by 70%. Manufacturers managed to sell 1,038,000 Android OS powered tablets last year.
“Due to the open source nature of the Android OS, tablets running on this system are generally priced lower than those running on other OS and its greater affordability encourages mass consumer adoption which in turn accelerates further development of its ecosystem.” explained Gerard Tan, Account Director for Digital Technology at GfK Asia. “The combined muscles of numerous manufacturers have helped proliferate adoption of Android OS in SEA. This is a compelling factor for developers to create more applications to cater to market needs, leading to the tightening of gaps between Android and the reigning market leader,” said Mr. Tan. “Moreover, the good transparency of the Android OS also bodes well in the business vertical industry, whereby specialized applications can be developed and implemented to improve a company’s productivity. As long as Google continues fine-tuning and improving its Android ecosystem, this OS is here to stay for the long haul,” he concluded.
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