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7.3.2011 Tablets take central role

Tablets like Apple's iPad are set to become the "control point" for consumers' media use at home, a new study has argued. McKinsey, the consultancy, reported 14.8m iPads were soldin the nine months after this product was launched, including 1m in its first 28 days on sale, a benchmark the iPhone took three months to achieve.

"In retrospect, the success of the iPad was certainly not obvious when Apple decided to develop it," the company added.  "The iPad, in effect, created its own market - one that dozens of competitors are now entering." To gain an insight into the attitudes and habits of people owning these devices, McKinsey conducted qualitative and quantitative analysis, alongside observing users at home.

Browsing the internet and watching video constituted the most common pastimes utilising Apple's slate, but just 16% of the panel always carried the iPad with them while on the move. However, this gadget is starting to supplant laptops and PCs for gaming, quick searches and email, is increasingly a tool for reading books, newspapers and magazines, and replaces other channels when viewing video in bed. Exactly 60% of the sample had downloaded ten apps or more, and early adopters spent €27 doing so during the month after obtaining the Apple-made appliance.  Only 30% of consumers possessing a 3G-enabled iPad had subscribed to a data package empowering them to go online wherever they choose, and the rest used WiFi as appropriate.

B.L. 7.3.2011