Earlier this summer, Forrester Research released a report with predictions for the US consumer PC market. Forrester predicted that tablets would be the fastest growing category of computers and would grow from 3.5 million units in 2010, to 8.4 million in 2011, to 59 million units in 2015. Forrester now says that based on new data and the success of the Apple iPad, their estimate was conservative and an update to the report will be published later this year.
In a blog post, Sarah Rotman Epps, author of the report explained, “One of the assumptions we made in our initial forecast was that the iPad would behave like other similar consumer devices in its first year of adoption: When it went on sale in April, we assumed that sales would be strong based on pent-up demand for a hyped product; we then assumed that sales would slow in a summer slump, as is common with consumer technology purchases; and that sales would spike again in the holiday season. But the iPad isn’t behaving like other consumer devices: It has a steamroller of momentum behind it that indicates incredibly strong demand for this entirely new form factor.”
According to an article from Campus Technology, in the report, Epps says that consumers were not looking for an iPad type device before it was introduced because the top features that they look for in a PC are not included in an iPad. However, Apple has done a great job of advertising the product, educating consumers, and making consumers realize just how much they need one.
