People in the US, UK and Australia have started using media tablets for daily personal activities, according to a new survey by Gartner.
The survey confirmed that the main reason for buying a media tablet, in preference to a PC, is the form factor; more specifically, respondents purchase them for their convenience, small size and light weight.
According to the survey, 81% of respondents are cheking emails on media tablets, while 69% are using it for reading news, 63% arechecking the weather forecast, 62% are using for social networking and 60% are using for gaming.
Gartner research vice president Carolina Milanesi said the survey found that more than 50% of media tablet owners prefer to read news, magazines and books on screen, rather than on paper.
"On average, one in three respondents used their media tablets to read a book, compared with 13 percent for mobile PCs, and 7 percent for mobile phones,"Milanesi said.
Gartner principal research analyst Meike Escherich said the research firm do not believe that the ‘paperless home’ will prevail, but it is clear that the ‘less-paper model’ is the new reality.
"The ongoing convergence of previously distinct devices seems to be turning the market for consumer devices from hardware-centric to usage-centric," added Escherich.
The respondents who were early adopters of media tablets preferred to use their multiple devices interchangeably, rather than substituting one device for another, using whichever device is at hand or the most convenient to use at a particular time and for a specific task.
Media tablets play a more dominant role in the home than mobile phones or PCs, with the highest usage reported in the living room at 87%, 65% in the bedroom and 47% in the kitchen.
"Weekday evenings are the most popular time to use media tablets, and this usage flattens out during the weekend as people tend to be away from home," Milanesi said.
Gartner said mobile phones play a role both inside and outside the home with 78% users undertaking most activities on their phones when in their living room in home, 65% while in transit, and 66% at work.
This aligns with Gartner’s scenario for screen usage in the living rooms of today and tomorrow even though the TV remains the largest screen in the living room, it shares users’ attention with other devices with smaller screens, often used simultaneously, as people access complementary or distinctively different services.
The survey also found that both male and female adopters show similar attitudes toward the use of mobile devices.
While men seem to prefer to gather information, women use their devices more for personalised entertainment activities like gaming and socialising via Facebook or Twitter.
