Apple tablets losing ground in education; Jumbo iPad planned
The Los Angeles Unified School District’s decision this week to halt its deployment of Apple iPads to students is part of a shift away from tablets in classrooms. A report by Futuresource Consulting shows that notebook computers have returned to favor in school purchases of computing hardware. Tablets accounted for 41.6% of computing-device sales in the U.S. K-12 education market in the second quarter, with various types of notebooks making up the majority 58.4%. A year ago, the tables were turned as tablets overtook notebooks as the preferred computing device for students and teachers. In Q2 2013, tablets, led by Apple’s (AAPL) iPad, accounted for 50.9% of device purchases, with notebooks trailing at 49.1%, Futuresource says. Adoption of low-cost Google (GOOGL) hromebooks has driven growth in the notebook segment. Acer and Samsung are currently the leading providers of Chromebooks to the U.S. education market, Futuresource says. In the second quarter,…