iPad 2 claimed over 70% of NZ tablet sales last quarter: IDC

With Apple to begin selling its new iPad here in just a few days, market analysts IDC have issued a report showing that the model’s predecessor, the iPad 2, accounted for over 70% of tablet sales in New Zealand in the fourth quarter of 2011.

57,000 media tablets were shipped here in the last quarter, the company says; 71% of those were iPad 2s, 27% were Android tablets – led by Samsung and the Galaxy Tab 10.1 – and the remaining 2% were BlackBerry PlayBooks.

70% year-on-year growth is being predicted in the market for 2012 on the back of the new iPad, even though we don’t have the network to take advantage of one of the device’s main features – its LTE connectivity.

IDC also notes that 54% of tablets sold in ANZ were wi-fi only, saying this is the first time sales of the basic models have outstripped those of wi-fi/3G tablets.

Over the Tasman, the iPad 2 claimed a massive 84% of the tablet market, helped by authorities barring sales of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the weeks before Christmas.