Tablet Computers

69.8% of respondents have never owned a tablet computer (e.g., iPad, Android tablet), representing the third largest untapped market of any of the 16 devices studied in a Researchscape survey of 1,000 consumers.

Purchase Interest

44.8% of respondents were “very interested” or “extremely interested” in purchasing a tablet. People interested in tablet computers are most likely to also be interested in portable DVD players (0.330 correlation), laptops (0.284 correlation) and smart TVs (television sets with Internet access, 0.280 correlation). They are least interested in feature phones (cell phones without Internet access, -0.109 correlation).

Consumers remain excited about the potential for tablet computers, which is transforming the ecosystem of other consumer electronics devices. Our hypothesis was that tablets would be the category that benefits the most from device substitution. In fact, that honor belongs to smart phones, but tablets come in second: 12.8% of respondents would replace a broken device from a different category with a tablet. Leading categories that would be cannibalized:

• 2.7% – Portable DVD player
• 1.8% – Desktop computer
• 1.5% – E-reader (e.g., Kindle, Nook)
• 1.5% – Television (without Internet access)
• 1.4% – Handheld game console (e.g., Gameboy, Sony PSP)
• 1.0% – Video game console (e.g., Xbox, PS3, Wii)
• 1.0% – GPS device (personal navigation device)

33.7% of respondents without a tablet said it was the device they didn’t own that they were most interested in purchasing. Of all respondents, 24.4% identified tablets as the device they were most interested in purchasing, the highest interest level.

Tablets are primarily seen as an alternative to laptops, with the functionality of e-readers, even replacing desktop computers on occasion.

• Good alternative to a laptop (mentioned by 46 respondents):
  • “Computer on the go, not as big as laptop.”
  • “Ease of use, take it around the house. More practical than a laptop.”
  • “Easier to carry around than a regular laptop.”
  • “I like the convenience of having a small device you can carry with you. They hold charges longer than most laptops.”
• For reading e-books (mentioned by 25 respondents):
  • “I like reading books, and this would allow me to do that easier when I travel.”
  • “I want to be able to combine an e-reader/laptop/Internet/games access into one device. I think I could also use it for work.”
  • “I’d like to be able to read comics and graphic novels digitally on a handheld device.”
  • “Interested in reading from it.”
• Replace laptop (mentioned by 9 respondents):
  • “Replace laptop use, take notes, need to carry less with me.”
  • “To replace my aging laptop.”
  • “I’d like a tablet to replace our older laptop. Tablets have nice HDMI output that could be used with our secondary HDTV. Lightweight too, which would be good for my wife.”
  • “It would be a good laptop replacement for surfing the Internet and viewing movies or videos.”
  • “It would be a nice replacement for my netbook, and the Nexus 7 in particular is very tempting.”
• Better than a phone or laptop (mentioned by 6 respondents):
  • “My laptop weighs 10 pounds and is difficult to cart around. My Android phone is great but too small to read a book comfortably. I don’t like the idea of buying a reader (one purpose).”
  • “I need something more powerful and full featured than my phone, but don’t want to continue taking my laptop everywhere as it can sometimes be a bit overkill.”
  • “I would like to be able to play games and use the Internet on something bigger than my phone but without having to drag out the big laptop.”
  • “It has the ability to do more than my smartphone can and is more portable than my laptop.”
  • “It would be a nice intermediary between the portability of a smartphone and the utility of a laptop. It would be useful for taking to meetings for taking notes and looking things up on the fly.”
  • “My laptop is really heavy and a pain in the butt to bring to class, can’t afford to replace it anytime soon though. My iPod touch is too small to use for notes or anything of the like. So I want something in the middle like a tablet. Looking into the new ????
• Good complement to a phone/media player (mentioned by 5 respondents):
  • “I enjoy my iPod touch, and I think at times that a little bit bigger screen would be nice.”
  • “I have an iPod and would like to eventually get an iPad for the better resolution and size of it.”
  • “I really like the features on tablets and I think they are much more comprehensive than the apps you can download on smartphones.”
  • “My eyes are getting worse, and I think it’d be easier for me to use than my phone/iPod touch.”
• Good alternative to a desktop PC (mentioned by 3 respondents):
  • “It seems like a very interesting product, and something that one day might eliminate the need for desktop computers.”
  • “It seems more minimalist. You have most all the functionality of a laptop and a desktop but much more portable and with a much larger battery life when referenced to the laptop.”
  • “It’s more convenient than a desktop computer. Also it would make reading online much easier.”

In terms of benefits and uses, portability and Internet access are key, followed by gaming, watching videos and even using Adobe PDF files.

• Portable (mentioned by 56 respondents):
  • “Compact, and would be portable, easy to travel with.”
  • “I am interested in it’s portability!”
  • “It seems great to bring to places and use when I don’t have a computer around me.”
• For Internet access (mentioned by 24 respondents):
  • “I am interested in the iPad because it is easy to use and I would use it more than my laptop for surfing the web.”
  • “It looks like a convenient way to access the Internet.”
  • “It would be a good laptop replacement for surfing the Internet and viewing movies or videos.”
  • “It would be nice to have a tablet for reading or surfing the web around the house.”
  • “Mobile internet that is better than phone.”
• For gaming (mentioned by 11 respondents):
  • “For gaming and watching Netflix on the go.”
  • “Games and web browsing convenience.”
  • “I would like to be able to play games and use the Internet on something bigger than my phone, but without having to drag out the big laptop.”
  • “Internet browsing on the couch and casual gaming.”
• Watch movies and TV shows (mentioned by 9 respondents):
  • “Watching movies/TV shows on the go.”
  • “Ability to use it to watch movies (for the kids) on the go, access Internet on the go; it is compact and easy to transport.”
  • “Watching Netflix on the go.”
  • “I like the convenience of this device. I like that it’s not that big and you can watch movies and go on the Internet, all in one product.”
  • “It would be useful in parts of the house I don’t want to drag the laptop into, like the kitchen for use while cooking (looking up recipes), playing music, following knitting patterns, and watching streamed TV shows.”
  • “Longer battery life for videos.”
• For Adobe PDF files (mentioned by 4 respondents):
  • “Annotating PDFs on the go, games.”
  • “It would be easy to carry around, allow me to play simple games, and give me something to read books/PDFs on.”
  • “Mostly for reading textbooks, PDF files and taking notes. Basically, for school activities. Maybe as a replacement for a laptop.”
  • “Mostly to be able to read large color PDF files on the go. The Kindle’s screen is a bit small for that.”

Respondents identified the following key patterns of use for tablets: for work, for school, when traveling or commuting, and even when in bed.

• For work (mentioned by 18 respondents):
  • “I think they can be extremely useful when talking to clients or finding quick information on the spot.”
  • “I travel a lot and my laptop is heavy. I would enjoy traveling with the lightweight iPad. Also, the iPad is something I could get a lot of work done on while not in the office. Its portability and battery life are great, so I wouldn’t need to haul a lot
  • “I want to roll it out to my staff as a streamlined way of operating.”
  • “I work in the IT industry. Many of my clients are now utilizing tablet computers. To better assist my clients, I am interested in buying and learning to efficiently use tablet computers.”
  • “I would like to buy a tablet for its utility in the workplace.”
  • “It would be really helpful in my job.”
• For school (mentioned by 15 respondents):
  • “Because I think it would be the most useful thing for classes.”
  • “Entertainment as well as e-textbooks for school.”
  • “I want a tablet because it will make taking notes in my college classes easier. It is also more portable.”
  • “Something small to take to school.”
• For traveling (mentioned by 11 respondents):
  • “Compact, and would be portable, easy to travel with.”
  • “I travel a lot and I think a tablet would be easier to carry around since I don’t really need the full features of a laptop.”
  • “It is smaller than my laptop but very useful. It has many of the same capabilities as a full computer and is perfect for traveling, which I do often, and I’d rather carry it around than my laptop.”
  • “Its versatility: it can be used as a computer, an e-book reader, and is easier to travel with than a laptop.”
• For commuting (mentioned by 3 respondents):
  • “It will keep me entertained on my commute. I would want to watch videos on it while sitting on the subway.”
  • “It would make my commute more tolerable.”
  • “Seems like it would be very handy on my commute.”
• To use in bed (mentioned by 3 respondents):
  • “I want a tablet so I can use it on the go or while I’m sick in bed.”
  • “I would very much like to be able to easier answer emails from bed, as well as browse simple sites.”
  • “So that I don’t have to use my laptop all the time. I could use a tablet in bed and still get work done.”

Other reasons: it’s cool, Apple is cool and friends have it.

• Cool (mentioned by 16 respondents):
  • “Because everyone has one, and it looks cool.”
  • “Because they are innovative and do many cool things. Also because they are sleek and attractive.”
• Apple fan (mentioned by 4 respondents):
  • “I really love Apple products!”
  • “I like Apple products, thus I must get an iPad, eventually.”
  • “I would like an iPad; I am very interested in some of the apps. My cell phone is Android, and I would like access to Apple downloads.”
  • “I’ve always wanted an iPad since I own a lot of Apple products. It looks a lot easier to use than any other computer.”
• Friend or family has one (mentioned by 3 respondents):
  • “Because I like playing with my mom’s iPad and it would be nice to own one, but I don’t have the money for it right now.”
  • “I got my boyfriend an iPad last summer and I can see that it has a lot of benefits.”
  • “My friends have them and they look awesome.”
• Other noteworthy comments:
  • “This device has the functionality of several different devices, and I wouldn’t have to carry so many around with me.”
  • “Something to play with on the toilet. Goof around with.”
  • The listed examples of tablets in the questionnaire were the iPad and Android. Here are the brands that respondents mentioned: Apple (9 mentions), Google/Android/Nexus (6 mentions), Amazon Kindle (5 mentions) and Microsoft Windows/Surface (2 mentions).

Current Ownership

27.4% of respondents currently own a tablet, the fifth lowest ownership rate of the 16 devices studied.

5% no longer use the device, giving it the third lowest rate of lapsed usage (compared to an average of 16.3%). It has the fourth highest rate of frequent use: 73.9% of owners reported using their tablet frequently.

In a separate survey of 400 consumers, we asked respondents a hypothetical question: which devices would they purchase if they had lost all of their devices in a robbery and new purchases were covered by insurance? 77.2% of current owners were “very interested” or “extremely interested” in repurchasing a tablet, the third highest interest level in repurchasing.

Tablets are the second most valued of devices: only 4.4% of owners said it was the device that they were least interested in replacing if it broke.

Past Ownership

2.8% of respondents have owned a tablet in the past but no longer do so, for the lowest rate of past ownership. This represents 9.3% of the group of current and former owners.