The increase in demand has inspired domestic distributors of various brands like Samsung, Asus, Lenovo, Acer and Optima, among others, to roll out a slew of new models along with various schemes.

Almost all the global notebook and handset makers are also manufacturing tablets these days. They come in 7 to 10-inch screen sizes and weigh less than 1 kg. They have a battery life of almost 8-12 hours.

Samsung’s authorised distributor International Marketing Services (IMS) has been increasing its product portfolio of tablets and intensifying promotional campaigns.

“We now have seven models of tablets targeting every segment, ranging from mid-level to premium,” said Dikesh Malhotra, president of IMS.

The company recently launched the Galaxy Tab S tablet in the premium segment which is available in 8 and 10-inch screen sizes.

According to him, the Galaxy Tab 4 series, which comes in 7 and 8-inch sizes with Android Kitkat 4.4 operating system, is the most sought after tablet in the domestic market. Though Apple has been leading in the tablet segment in many markets, Samsung claims it has the largest market share in the domestic tablet market. According to Malhotra, IMS sells around 200 tablets daily across the country.  

Meanwhile, many companies have been slashing prices in a bid to attract customers. IMS also launched a festival scheme targeting festive shoppers. Colors has recently launched a bundling scheme with Ncell for its two models the XT 721 and the 751 under which customers get a 300 MB data package from Ncell.

Neoteric Nepal, the authorised distributor of HP and Dell in Nepal and which also sells Neo tablets manufactured in Taiwan, is planning to bring out a new series of tablets with upgraded specifications at slashed prices.

“The Neo tablets which we launched around six months ago became immensely popular among Nepali customers,” said Yogesh Roy, national sales manager at Neoteric. He added that people were increasingly buying tablets as they have become more handy and affordable.

According to Roy, the company is planning to launch the Neo W 7 tablet for Rs 5,900, a massive drop from its earlier price of Rs 7,900. Similarly, the Neo I 7 will be available at Rs 9,900 compared to Rs 13,000 previously.

“Many office goers and students feel that laptops are inconvenient, and they are increasingly using tablets in their daily work,” said Roy, adding that a longer battery life also played a very important role in their rising popularity. Generally, the 4,000 mAh to 5,000 mAh batteries that come with many tablets last almost 12 hours.

Although the tablet market has been growing, it has not been expanding as per its potential, said traders. “As smartphones started coming in larger sizes (5 to 6 inches) the growth of tablets is slow these days,” said Raj Prajapati, sales manager of Mercantile Office Systems, the authorised distributor of Acer in Nepal.