14 DAY TRIAL // Results from a recent study conducted by market research firm Technology Business Research, Inc. (TBR) reveal that tablets like Apple’s iPad are on track to displace many consumers’ secondary PCs, implicitly creating a third major device category for personal computing and connectivity.
Apple's popular iPad is, of course, the main example used in the study.
TBR's iPad & Web Tablet Buyer Study surveyed 500 U.S.-based iPad owners, as well as future buyers.
The iOS-powered slate-shaped device is “a demonstration that the consumer seeks quick, easy e-mail and Web access via a device that features more portability than a laptop PC while providing instant-on and more usability than a smartphone,” according to TBR.
While TBR believes the market will continue to support all three device styles (laptop, smartphone, tablet), “laptop PCs will lose some ground to tablets,” TBR upholds.
"The rise of tablets is a clear signal of consumers' desire for different forms of information consumption. Tablet devices, such as the iPad, will shake up the personal computing ecosystem and the PC market," said Ezra Gottheil, Senior Analyst at TBR.
"Tablets will displace sales of consumers' secondary laptop PCs, while their primary PC will continue to maintain its role for tasks such as document creation, storing files, and editing photographs,” Gottheil added.
“The majority of consumers will still own a PC two or three years down the road, but they will increasingly leverage other devices for computing and web access needs," the analyst said.
As any such study is presented, some key findings are listed. According to TBR, These include:
- About a third of buyers replaced or will replace their PC with the iPad. - Almost half of buyers use their iPad as their primary computing device. - More than 80% of buyers stated the iPad met or exceeded expectations.
As a conclusion, TBR outlines that its iPad & Web Tablet Buyer Study report “documents the emergence of a third connectivity device in the consumer arsenal.”
Bottom line: “The tablet category will be a vital piece of the computing ecosystem.”
Although the key findings have provided a valuable result for the big picture in the tablet ecosystem, other important factors were also taken into account.
For example, the study covered respondent demographics and technology profiles.
TBR also looked at purchase criteria and purchase process, device usage and anticipated usage, satisfaction and desired improvements.
“The tablet device will rapidly establish itself as a powerful information consumption device in both the consumer and business markets,” said TBR President Jon Lindy.
“All those in the computing ecosystem must keep the tablet in mind when putting together their strategies for 2011 and beyond.”