Galaxy Tab Surges On Mojiva Network
- by Mark Walsh @markfwal, March 23, 2011
Despite the influx of new tablet devices this year, there's little doubt that the iPad still dominates the category. Even so, data from research firm IDC showed the Apple tablet losing ground in the fourth quarter, slipping to 73% market share from 93% a year ago. Taking a big chunk out of the iPad's huge lead was Samsung's Galaxy-powered Tab, which ended the year in second place with 17% share.
Inroads made by the Galaxy Tab are also reflected in the latest monthly metrics released by mobile ad network Mojiva. They showed that the number of unique Tab users on the network has grown 20-fold in the first two months of the year, hitting 800,000 in February.
That's not far below the 1.1 million unique visitors coming from the iPad. (Samsung also launched a pair of new versions of the Tab yesterday, which it boasts are the "world's thinnest tablets" and come in a just a tad thinner than the latest iPad.)
Among the factors contributing to the surge in Tab users: a big marketing push behind the device in advance of the iPad 2 launch and its price dropping to as low as $199 with a one-year contract from Verizon Wireless. The iPad's entry price is $499. Overall, Android also accounts for 54% of unique users on the Mojiva network compared to 35% for Apple's iOS platform.
Perhaps more interesting is that ads on the Galaxy Tab are showing a higher click-through rate than on the iPad: a rate of .60 versus .20 for the Apple device. But neither rate is all that impressive.
Among mobile operating systems, Research in Motion's BlackBerry OS had the highest click-through rate, at 1.3%. RIM is launching its own entry in the tablet race -- the Playbook -- next month for $499.
In February, Mojiva totaled 84.3 million unique users, an 8% monthly gain. Valentine's Day proved to be a traffic driver last month, with unique users jumping 25% between Feb. 9 and 14. During that period, people also clicked on ads at a higher rate.
I'm confused by the stat that says the iPad had a 93% share "a year ago" - ostensibly comparing 4Q09 to 4Q10. Since Apple shipped the first iPad on April 3, 2010, it seems as though it would be hard for the device to have ANY share in 4Q09.
Thoughts?
I had looked at the Galaxy Tab, read the reviews, played with it and did same with iPad 1. I liked them both but the iPad was simply too big and did not substitute for a netbook PC's office software capabilities.
I thought the Tab was too elongated for my hands to actually text and certainly couldn't touch type on it. However, I thought it would make a good e-reader, browser and quick email option.
Finally, when the price dropped, I went and played with the 'oversized phone' Galaxy Tab and got it with at 2-year contract. I can only say now that - ultimately - I don't need a phone anymore with this highly portable device. Or, if you prefer, this becomes my new 7-in. screen phone. It's a very sleek device and takes up considerably less real estate than an iPad or Xoom.
I don't need to have the Applestore to make me happy, so I'd say this is a GREAT solution for anyone looking for the sweet spot of running data, videos, games, larger type fonts, browsing and reading. It's a reasonable texting option, though not great and, with Bluetooth, who needs a smaller device for traditional calls?