Russia reclassifies Apple's iPad as a computer, avoiding 5% import tax
Russia's Federal Customs Service has nixed the 5 percent fee by nixing the "navigator" classification that was previously applied to the iPad, according to Vedomosti (via Google Translate). The iPad 2 has been available in Russia since May of 2011.
The iPad was previously considered a navigation device because it can include a GPS radio for positioning data. However, only the 3G-equipped iPad model includes GPS, while the Wi-Fi-only model does not.
Tuesday's report did not state whether the Russian Federal Customs Service drew a distinction between an iPad with GPS versus without. It did, however, say that "other" tablets with GPS would still be classified as navigation devices and would be subject to the 5 percent tax.
The subject of whether to classify the iPad as a personal computer or something else entirely has been a matter of debate since Apple first launched the device in 2010. For its part, Apple has positioned the iPad as a "post-PC" device.
Companies that track PC and device sales have been divided as to whether to include the iPad when analyzing the PC market. One study released in February by NPD DisplaySearch found that combined iPad and MacBook sales gave Apple a 27 percent share of all mobile PC shipments, nearly tripling the 9.9 percent share held by second-place Hewlett-Packard.
In terms of total PC sales, including desktops, Canalys reported in January that sales of the iPad pushed Apple ahead of HP in the December quarter. But excluding the tablet's sales numbers, the market analysis firm said, would see the sector instead post a net loss for the three-month frame.
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"...Companies that track PC and device sales have been divided as to whether to include the iPad when analyzing the PC market. One study released in February by NPD DisplaySearch found that combined iPad and MacBook sales gave Apple a 27 percent share of all mobile PC shipments, nearly tripling the 9.9 percent share held by second-place Hewlett-Packard..."
and
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles...e_without.html
"Record-setting earnings for the December quarter put Apple ahead of HP as the world's number one PC vendor, with the company's combined sales of 15.4 million iPads and 5.2 million Macs accounting for 17 percent of the total 120 million PC shipments worldwide..."
"...Canalys notes that desktop, netbook, notebook and tablet sales grew 16 percent from the year ago quarter, however if iPads are not included as PCs, that number would drop to negative 0.4 percent..."
"...Tablet PCs are becoming an increasingly attractive option to traditional computers, and the mobile devices accounted for 22 percent of total PC shipments during the fourth quarter of 2011..."If current trends continue we might be discussing an Apple computer market instead of a PC market within a few years.
Oh, and Apple is Doomed!
Приветствия к нашим братьям и сестрам России.
Smart cookies.
Uh no! Russia just started another war... in this thread.
I wonder if Gartner will follow.
I wonder if Gartner will follow.
What are they going to do about Win8? I don't think MS will break down Win8 for tablet sales unless they very good -and- show a lot of growth potential. I can see the analysts categorizing all tablets as PCs and then also having a sub-category for tablet.PS: Win8 on a tablet looks great.
The UI is responsive and transitions are fast and buttery smooth. It's still missing a lot of features and there is a question as to whether that's an Intel or ARM-based system, why it had to stay plugged in and why it's not shown in portrait mode, but the foundation UI looks good for MS and certainly better than what Android is bringing to the table.