Hardware manufacturer and systems integrator HCL Infosystems Ltd has sold more, if not the same number of, tablet PCs than laptops in the July to September quarter this year, its CEO and whole-time director, Harsh Chitale said here on Friday.

According to Chitale, the company sold nearly 1 lakh tablet PCs last quarter, against a similar, if not lower, number of laptops during the same period.

“I believe the inflexion is happening and, by 2013, you will see as many tablets PCs being sold as laptops across the industry.

HCL sold nearly 100,000 tablet PCs last quarter while laptop sales would have been lower, if not the same,” he told reporters on the sidelines of Infocom 2012 — an annual IT conference.

Competition

Tablets, however, contribute a “small portion” to the overall turnover of the company. Nearly 20 lakh tablet PCs are expected to be sold by the industry by the end of this fiscal (2012-13), he added.

HCL has tablet PC offerings across different price points, with products costing upwards of Rs 7000.

All its tablets operate on the Google Android operating system (OS) and most of them are in the 7-inch category.

Asked about competition with premium products such as Apple’s iPad and Samsung’s Galaxy, Chitale maintained that HCL offerings cater not just to the premium customer but also to the “bottom of the pyramid”.

> abhishek.l@thehindu.co.in