It appears that the 8 inch tablet segment may have been overestimated, at least according to Taiwanese device makers. A few brand vendors such as Samsung and Acer have rushed to release 8 inch slates, seizing the moment and the hype caused by the iPad Mini.
Recently we’ve seen companies like Toshiba and Lenovo also getting a taste of the smaller diagonal segment. However, the vendor component orders for 8 inch tablets are starting to drop as the sales also drop, compared to the original expectations. The idea was that the 8 inch slates would replace the 7 inchers, but those still remain popular.
The average price point of the 7 inch tablets is around $150 right now and they are said to account for 70% of the total tablet shipments. Recently we’ve heard at least twice about Samsung’s decreased orders for 10 inch panels and now even 8 inch devices are losing to 7 inchers. In 2012 8 inch models only got less than 3% of the total slate shipments, but this year they may reach 10%. Will they become mainstream?
