Prices, infrastructure, hamper iPad sales in Indonesia

The percentage of Apple iPad users in Indonesia is the lowest compared to other advanced Southeast Asian countries using Apple products, a recent survey concluded. The iPad has become the most popular Apple device in many Southeast Asian countries, the survey revealed.

Prices and telecommunication infrastructure are identified as factors behind why the percentage of Apple’s iPad users in Indonesia is lower than many of its Southeast Asian neighbors, analysts said.

 According to a release from Effective Measure — an online audience measurement tool — earlier this week, users of all Apple devices in Indonesia accounted for only 10.1 percent of the country’s e-mobile population.

The data showed that Apple mobile devices, including iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch, are used by 11.8 million Internet users attributing to 53.1 percent of the Southeast Asian e-mobile population.

 Associate market analyst for client devices at International Data Corporation (IDC) Indonesia, Darwin Lie, contributed the low percentage of iPad users in Indonesia to prices and insufficient telecommunication infrastructure.

“Most Southeast Asian telecommunication companies offer bundling, which in some cases the companies subsidize the price for iPhones or the iPad. This approach has made the iPhone and iPad more affordable in some countries in the region.

 “Indonesia does not have this type of subsidy, which automatically makes the iPhone and iPad more expensive in Indonesia than in other ASEAN countries,” Lie said.

 Lie pointed out that most Apple products also required certain telecommunication infrastructure, such as a wi-fi connection — which is not available in the majority of Indonesian cities.

 Marketing strategist Nukman Luthfie said that most Apple products required greater bandwidth, “that’s why Apple has the biggest number of users in countries that have better telecommunications infrastructure, such as Singapore.”

 According to the survey, Apple holds “the largest market share in Thailand and Singapore; used by over 70 percent of the local e-mobile population.”

 Apart from Singapore, where the iPhone emerged as the most widely used Apple device with a 37.51 percent share, iPad has the highest usage compared to other mobile devices in all other Southeast Asian countries surveyed.

 However, Nukman said that even though Indonesia had the lowest percentage of Apple users among countries surveyed in the region “this does not mean Indonesia has the lowest figure.”

 As of October, 14.6 million e-mobile users, accounting for 65.7 percent of the SEA e-mobile population, used mobile devices manufactured by Apple, Research In Motion, Nokia and Samsung.

 “BlackBerry ranked third with 6.9 percent share, while Samsung rounded off the list with a collective 2.6 percent share,” the survey reported.

 Lie said that the number of iPad users in Indonesia was still likely to continue to grow.

 “The Indonesian market is not a trendsetter, but a trend follower, although Apple [products] have become popular worldwide.

 “IDC expected the total shipment [of tablets] in Indonesia this year would reach a staggering number of 500,000 units. We see that the iPad will have 33% of the market share,” Lie said.

 Effective Measure surveyed six countries in the region: Thailand, Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia. (swd)