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Science/Tech See other Science/Tech Articles Title: Tablet makers rush into drone production in China Want... With lackluster sales in the global tablet market, Chinese makers have been looking to expand into the development and production of smartphones, wearable devices, vehicle navigation systems and , particularly, drones or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the first half of this year, reports Shanghai's China Business News (CBN). Statistics released by International Data Corp. (IDC), a US-based market research firm, showed that global shipments of tablet PCs declined by 7% year-on-year to 447 million units in the second quarter of the year. "The downward trend will continue," said Gu Yong, marketing director of Ramos Digital Technology, a Shenzhen-based tablet maker. Gu told the paper that his company debuted only three to four new tablet models in the first half of the year, only half the corresponding numbers of the past few years. Low-end models priced at 399 yuan (US$65) now rivet little market attention, he said. "Normally, tablets have a usage duration of two to three years, longer than that of smartphones, and therefore record a slower pace of replacement. This will make global tablet market continue to spiral downwards," Gu said. IDC's senior analyst Jistesh Ubrani also said that the protracted life cycle, intensified competitiveness of big-screen smartphones, and the fact that terminal users can install latest systems on their old tablets have combined to dampen consumers' interest in buying new ones. CBN said that the industrial chain of mobile phone knock-offs has lasted almost eight years in China, but the time duration for that of tablet knock-offs is only two years, promoting makers in the line to diversify their production. "We began to feel the need for expanding into other sectors, and finally we chose to focus on smartphone production," Ramos's Gu told the paper. Many other makers in the line are venturing into the production of wearables, vehicle navigation systems and drones. Customs statistics showed that drone makers in Shenzhen commanded a 99.9% share of China's drone exports in the first five months of the year, shipping abroad 160,000 units valued at 750 million yuan (US$121 million) during the period, for a 69-fold increase in volume and a 55-fold surge in value. More than 10 former tablet makers in China displayed their latest drone products at the 2015 Global Sources Electronics Show held in April in Hong Kong, including Shenzhen South Digital, previously a maker of smartwatches and tablets. The firm's spokesperson told the paper that market demand for drones is quite great and the company is technologically capable to move into the drone field. Many tablet makers have placed orders with drone designers. "It will take three to six months to complete the design of a drone model, and many tablet makers have contacted us directly for providing them with prototypes of drones," said a ranking official with DAGU Hi-Tech Electronic, a designer of robots and drones in Shenzhen. The official said that tablet makers' habitual thinking and operation-mentality may be detrimental to the development of the drone industry. He added that drones require precision matching among digital flight control systems, electrical engineering systems, and electronic speed control systems, and that their balance, stability and reliability should undergo strict tests and verification before they can be up for sales. "This, coupled with core chips and aerodynamics expertise is far beyond the technical competence of existing tablet makers in China," he went on to say Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest
#1. To: Tatarewicz (#0)
Cell phones are replaced each two years by contract customers, true, but are tablets too? Or do people break them that fast.
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