VDC Research recently published its Q2 2012 Rugged Mobile Quarterly Shipments Report, supplementing its Enterprise & Government Mobility Hardware Research Service. Some key findings from this report include:
- The market for rugged large form factors had double-digit growth in Q2 2012 (over Q2 2011). The growth in the rugged tablet market was the primary contributor as the market for rugged notebooks and forklift mounted computers both contracted.
- Rugged notebook market experienced the greatest drop among large form factors. Vendors are positioning themselves to better serve the commercial segments as a result of the cuts in government spending. Shifting focus to commercial markets is not as easy as it may seem, given the historic ties the majority of the rugged notebook vendors have with the public sector.
- Rugged tablet market is taking a boost from the overall demand for the media tablets. The market grew by 30.1% over the year-ago-quarter, experiencing double-digit growth across all regions. Rugged forklift mounted computer market contracted by 9.1% (over Q2 2011) as the only growth came from the Asia-Pacific region while the Americas region shrank by 14.1%.
- Rugged handheld market was flat in Q2 2012, achieving a YoY growth of 1.8%. The economic uncertainty in the EMEA region was a key contributor to this outcome, as well as the fierce competition that this market is facing from lower cost solutions such as the smartphones.
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