Looks like the iPad may not be the tablet titan we all thought it was. The cheaper-but-still-nice Nexus 7 tablet has overtaken the iPad in Japan, according to Nikkei report.
The Nexus 7 started shipping in mid-July and impressed a lot of tech-watchers including us by being one of the best $200 tablets around. Apple may have the most polished tablets on the block with the iPad and iPad mini, but the Nexus 7 may be the overall best value of any tablet. And consumers around the world seem to be noticing.
Based on a survey of 2,400 Japanese electronics stores, the Nexus 7 appears to have a market share of 44.4 percent while the iPad has 40.1 percent. While the survey from Nekkei noted that there was a shortage of iPad minis, the biggest factor for Japanese consumers was price. The Nexus 7 is about $100 cheaper than the iPad mini.
The big question is if what’s happening in Japan will happen elsewhere, namely the U.S. A recent report predicted that the iPad will dip below 50% tablet market share worldwide in mid-2013.