Microsoft has yet to sell as many Surface tablets as other competitors, mainly Apple and Samsung. Not too long ago, the company unveiled the Surface Pro 3, which will not hit the UK before August. As far as the performance of the current Surface tablets are concerned, a new report suggests that they are gaining traction the past few months, at least in the UK.
According to the data collected by Canalys, the tablet market is on the rise in the UK, with the numbers surging by 20.4 percent year-to-year, increasing the shipments by 2.15 million units during the first quarter of 2014. These shipments are not sales made to the customer, rather the number shipped to retailers and distributors in the region.
As far as Microsoft is concerned, Canalys says Microsoft shipped 71,540 units, a rise of 27.1 percent compared to the same quarter last year, increasing its market share to 3.3 percent. The most interesting fact here is that 58 percent of tablets are ARM-based tablets powered by Windows RT (Surface RT and Surface 2), while remaining accounts for the Surface Pro versions. This helps Microsoft gain the fourth spot, surpassing Google who is now down to the fifth spot.
Apple is on top with 34.4 percent share, with 742,000 units shipped in the region, followed by Samsung with 653,000 units. The third spot is captured by Amazon with 14.1 percent market share in the region.
Microsoft recently released the Intel-based Surface Pro 3, which is expected to go up for pre-orders at major retailers and distributors next month. The tablet got rid of most of the issues people had with the tablet, and it’s even cheaper than the Surface Pro 2 base model. It would be good to see how Microsoft will perform in various regions in the coming months. Have your say on this using the comments below.
