OREANDA-NEWS. June 9, 2012. Tablet sales have increased by almost 5-fold since last year (April 2011 – April 2012), according to market research company GfK Retail & Technology. In April this year, tablets accounted for 29% of Estonian retail laptop market. Tablets made up 45% of computers sold at EMT in April, and in May the number reached 51%.

According to Ardi Ratassepp, Head of Terminal Sales Department at EMT, during the past eighteen months, tablet PC has become a trend and convenience product. In a short period of time, tablet sales have surged and now tablets make up 51% of all EMT computer sales. „While it took ten years for laptops to eclipse desktops, it took just eighteen months for tablets to take over market share from laptops,” said Ardi Ratassepp. The breaking point was reached in May, when EMT sold more tablets than laptops and the trend is rising.

„Asus PadFone has certainly played a big role in increase of sales of tablets. During the last weeks, the sales of this hybrid device have reached 40% of all tablets sold,” added Ratassepp.

The Asus PadFone is essentially an Android 4.0 smartphone-tablet-laptop hybrid featuring a dual-core 1.5GHz processor. PadFone phone acts as a tablet when joined with a tablet shell. The tablet portion can then dock into a keyboard dock, effectively making the PadFone a full laptop.

iPad and several Samsung models are top choices among tablet buyers. At EMT stores, Asus PadFone is also high in the list. Most of the tablets are bought with mobile internet access. Tablet sales are expected to rise even further at the end of the year when 4G tablets hit the stores.

Together with Elion, EMT belongs to the largest Estonian telecommunications and ICT group Eesti Telekom. EMT is the leader of wireless communications market in Estonia, providing the best coverage, renowned product development and best customer service. TeliaSonera is the majority owner of Eesti Telekom. TeliaSonera is a leader in mobile communication services both in mobile and fixed communication in Nordic and Baltic countries. TeliaSonera has 170 million customers in 20 counties in Nordic and Baltic countries, Eastern Europe and Central Asia.