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Nexus 7 reportedly dethrones iPad as top tablet in Japan

Published Jan 17th, 2013 9:30AM EST
Nexus 7 Sales Japan

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Sales of Google’s (GOOG) low-cost Nexus 7 tablet have reportedly topped Apple’s (AAPL) iPad over the holiday season in Japan. Nikkei cites market research firm BCN in reporting that a survey of 2,400 stores across Japan suggests that Google’s 7-inch tablet accounted for 44.4% of all tablet sales by large electronics vendors in the region. Despite the launch of the iPad mini, sales of Apple tablets were said to account for 40.1% of all tablet sales over the period. It is unclear if Apple stores were included in the firm’s poll.

Google’s Nexus 7 is designed as a land grab and in Japan, it is clearly working in that regard. Nikkei notes that the Nexus 7 costs 19,800 yen in Japan, compared to entry-level prices of 42,800 yen and 28,800 yen for the iPad and iPad mini, respectively.

The Japanese arm of market research firm IDC notes that Japan is a relatively small market, though — according to its estimates, a total of 3.6 million tablets were sold in Japan during 2012.

Zach Epstein
Zach Epstein Executive Editor

Zach Epstein has been the Executive Editor at BGR for more than 10 years. He manages BGR’s editorial team and ensures that best practices are adhered to. He also oversees the Ecommerce team and directs the daily flow of all content. Zach first joined BGR in 2007 as a Staff Writer covering business, technology, and entertainment.

His work has been quoted by countless top news organizations, and he was recently named one of the world's top 10 “power mobile influencers” by Forbes. Prior to BGR, Zach worked as an executive in marketing and business development with two private telcos.