Aussies use tablets like PCs

Stephen Withers
Friday, 06 May 2011 14:02

How do you use your tablet? New research has found Australian usage is more like that of PCs rather than mobile phones.

According to research carried out by TNS, the takeup of tablets in Australia is running at around 6%. That's about twice the global average, said James Ferguson, the company's global head of technology, but in line with other developed markets.

But in an example of "buzz creating demand," 26% of Australian respondents said they plan to purchase a tablet in the next six months.

So far, tablet usage is primarily at home via Wi-Fi connections, Mr Ferguson said, and more closely resembles PC usage than smartphone usage.

66% of intending purchasers see a tablet as an additional device rather than a replacement for their existing technology. Only 13% expect to replace a PC with a tablet (it might be interesting to see how that breaks down between desktop and notebook/netbook replacement), and a mere 2% expect it to replace a mobile phone (which probably shows that almost all of us want a phone in order to make phone calls).

There's only one application for which tablets are preferred to PCs and smartphones, and that's reading ebooks. That's not very surprising, as smartphone screens are on the small side for reading large amounts of text. The lack of mobility makes desktops inconvenient for reading books, and the landscape display of a notebook or netbook isn't ideal for the task.