High tablet sales to back Intel’s plans to power more devices

SEEING a huge growth in Philippine tablet sales, multinational company Intel is expanding its presence in the local scene by penetrating more local tablet brands this year, a key official said.

Intel Microelectronics Philippines Inc. country manager Calum Chisholm said during Intel’s Mobility Roadshow in Cebu City on Monday that the company has penetrated some of the local brands last year.

At present, Intel is already running in some of the products of six local original equipment manufacturers, which include Cloudfone, Starmobile, Felta, Polaroid, Redfox, and Suntouch, Intel Philippines marketing manager Randy M. Kanapi said.

New mobile lifestyle

The officials said that by the end of the year, they hope to tap more local brands and subsequently come up with more Intel-powered devices.

“The mobile lifestyle is on the rise,” Chisholm said, especially in the Philippines where tablet sales soared at 95 percent in the first three months of 2014.

International Data Corporation’s newest report released this month cited the Philippines as having the fastest tablet growth in Southeast Asia.

Quoting a media report, Chisholm said a total of 598,375 tablets were shipped to the Philippines in the first quarter of 2014, which translates to a year-on-year growth of 110 percent, the highest year-on-year growth among countries in Southeast Asia.

Various designs

In the Asia Pacific and Japan (APJ), the region is eyed to reach a fifth of the global demand by 2017, making APJ the fastest growing region in the world of tablets.

Currently, APJ, where the Philippines belongs, represents 16 percent of global tablet demand.

Of the various tablet designs available in the market, Intel records more than 130 designs available in 150 countries, running either in Windows or Android or both platforms.

Aside from the growth of tablets in the Philippines, 2-in-1 devices, or the combination of the tablet and laptop are also growing. The likes of Acer, Asus, Lenovo, HP, and Dell have already released different 2-in-1 devices in the market.

Chisholm said the “best of both tablet and laptop” is what the 2-in-1 device offers, where users’ demand for productivity is being addressed given the integrated keyboard design, and a long-lasting battery life.

To further penetrate the tablet market, Intel-powered devices have been becoming more affordable to buyers.

Price range

They might not be on the lowest end, Chisholm said, but the prices they offer to different segments carry Intel’s “performance liability.” The lowest Intel-powered tablet in the market today is at P8,000 but Intel officials said a P5,999 device under one particular brand will come out soon.

Chisholm said consumers can expect more affordable Intel-powered tablets this year.

Intel projects “4X growth” in 2014, with a road map of more than 90 tablet designs in the market to come out.

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