By Chris Chang, posted Jul 28, 2011 at 9:06 AM, 2,604 views,

1 Out of 6 Hong Kong Citizens Owns An iPad

We know that iPad is magical, everyone wants it, but how popular is it? Well, Global market research company TNS polled 34,000 people across 43 countries (501 people from Hong Kong) in compiling a report on worldwide tablet sales, and they found that already one in six Hongkongers — or 17% — are proud owners of a tablet computer, a rate that is six times the global average of 3%.

So you are telling me that if I have six friends in Hong Kong, there’s one of them owns an iPad… That’s pretty incredible. According to the TNS report, 50% of people here say they expect to purchase a tablet, far higher than the global average of just 15% of the general community. What’s more, compared to Hong Kong, just 2.1% of citizens from mainland China said they owned a tablet (with 5.9% saying they planned to buy one), while the figures recorded from the United States were 5.3% ownership and 20.3% of people who were still making plans for purchase.

Other results of the report from Hong Kong saw 27% of people here would expect to purchase a tablet to replace home computer, and 60% of people treat their tablets as peripheral devices for computers. Moreover, tablet computers are picked as the preferred device for such activities as e-reading (52% of those polled) and playing games (33%), while still using their personal computers as the device they turn to when emailing, fixing up their online banking accounts or surfing the internet. Here’s what the Chairman of the Hong Kong Computer Industry said,

“Actually, a tablet computer is not a new technology. The way Apple introduced the iPad as a light, easy-to-use device has gained in popularity with consumers.”

You may wonder, how many tablet computers were sold in Hong Kong? Well, around 500,000 tablets have been sold in Hong Kong in the past 12 months, in a city of around seven million people, according to industry sources, with “nine out of 10″ being Apple iPads! The data is stunning, however, we don’t believe the locals are using it after buying it, since there’s a grey market in the city, where you can sell the iPads for profits. So, how many of the devices were bought by locals and how many by tourists could not be confirmed.

In Hong Kong, we have a grey market. The locals always visit the grey market to do two things — sell their brand new iPhones and iPads away for some profits, or pay double for an Apple product if it’s only available for sale in the U.S first. Well, if you live in Hong Kong and always visit the grey market but you are not doing the above two things we talked about, congrats, you are a smart Apple user. Previously, we introduced how the master of grey market does business, and we reported the staff of local electronics chain getting arrested for taking bribes to sell iPad 2 to parallel traders. These news have proved that some Hong Kong citizens are not really iPad users if they got an iPad.

We are glad that there are still some real iPad users out there. During the iPad 2 launch in Hong Kong and China, we have seen huge crowds waiting in line to get the new Apple tablet. Even though there are other tablets such as the Motorola Xoom and Galaxy Tab available for purchase in the market, local consumers just know one thing — my friend has an iPad, I want an iPad too.

According a Beijing-based research firm, the iPad continues to reign as the top-selling tablet in China while rival Android devices from Motorola, Lenovo and Asus struggle to gain a sizeable presence in the country’s market. What’s even more impressive is that a total of 1.4 million tablets were sold in China during the second quarter, with 74 percent of those sales for Apple’s iPad devices, according to Analysys International. Although tech companies such as Motorola, Lenovo, and Asus have all began selling new Android tablets in China last quarter, we are not seeing local consumers talking about these tablets during their work, or mealtime. Why? Chinese consumers just don’t care if the tablet they are purchasing has the best apps and multimedia offerings, they just want something fashionable. The Chinese consumers do not just treat Apple’s iPad as a tablet computer, but also a luxury good. Today, the rich Chinese will buy an iPhone or iPad as a gift for business partners, relatives or friends. Luxury handbags, clothing, watches and jewellery are no longer the first choice in the gift list.

So, anyone of you here owns an iPad?

Source: Herald Sun, IDG