According to a recent survey by Google’s AdMob subsidiary, tablets are primarily used for gaming in the United States. Of the 1,400 tablet owners surveyed, 84% use them to play games. But will it be a lasting trend?
The survey also revealed around 78% of users searched for information, 74% emailed, 61% read the news, 56% engaged in social networking, 51% consumed music and videos and 46% read ebooks.
Although Google did not reveal what tablets those surveyed were using, the statistics were gathered in March when the Samsung Galaxy Tab had just been released and the iPad strongly dominated the market.
So it’s safe to say the majority of tablet users surveyed probably owned an iPad.
The survey also found 38% of tablet owners spent two or more hours a day on their devices, while 30% put in 1-2 hours.
Most of the time spent on tablets was done away from work, with 82% of respondents primarily using their tablets at home – compared to 11% who used the tablet on the go and 7% at their place of employment.
28% of respondents say their tablet is currently their primary computer, while 43% say they spend more time on their tablet than on their laptop or desktop.
Although people seem to be gaming on tablets, the survey did not reveal how much time was actually spent gaming.
The novelty of tablet gaming may not last because the technology is more conducive to certain types of games rather than others.
For example, a game like Angry Birds plays fabulously on the big screen tablet, whereas a game that relies heavily on the accelerometer, a driving game for example, may not be the most practical use of a tablet. Imagine sitting on the train trying to play a driving game on your tablet…. not cool.
Perhaps once the tablet novelty wears off a little more, the statistics may skew towards emailing and social networking rather than gaming.
(Via Guardian UK)
