The UK channel is tapping into enterprise demand for fondleslabs - well, iPads - with business-to-business sales going through the roof, figures from market watcher Context show.

Approximately 136,000 tabs were shipped in Blighty by distributors in Q2, up from just 26,000 a year earlier, and of these 63.5 per cent were sold to businesses with the remainder going to consumers. Apple, which works with disties Westcoast, C2000 and Ingram Micro, accounted for 102,000 units - or precisely three quarters of total UK slate shipments through wholesalers.

A year ago, Apple share of channel tab sales was 69.2 per cent meaning the fruity chomp firm has marginally tightened its grip in the UK.

This is almost a complete reversal on the picture a year ago when Apple and other tablet makers were largely counting on individuals rather than firms to buy their wares.

"When the iPad came out it wasn't targeted at business but as Apple [moved to focus] more on the enterprise sector it signed up Insight and distributors to target those customers," said Salman Chaudhry, Context mobile computing analyst.

However, sources in the corporate reseller space told The Channel earlier this week that firms are expressing interest in evaluating Microsoft's Surface and other Windows 8-based slates. ®