Consumers distinguishing tablet use from smartphone use
A new study from Solutions Research Group (SRG) suggests that the mighty iPad is losing market share to smaller, cheaper tablets.
The latest installment of SRG’s ongoing Digital Life Canada study found that the iPad accounted for 56% of the tablets in Canadian homes in the first quarter of 2012, down significantly from more than 80% in the corresponding year-earlier period.
While SRG said that iPad sales continue to be “robust” (research firm Gartner forecasts worldwide sales of 72.9 million for the device this year), it attributed Apple’s shrinking market share to a “fast-growing category” with more product variety.
According to SRG, Research in Motion’s Playbook device increased its share of the tablet market to 19%, while Acer and Asus accounted for 6% and 5% respectively.
The company said it is also seeing increased consumer appetite for devices with smaller screens that allow for greater portability than the iPad, as well as a significantly lower price point.
Gartner said earlier this year that worldwide tablet sales are expected to total 118.9 million units this year, a 98% increase from 2011 sales of 60 million. Apple is forecast to account for 61.4% of all tablet sales worldwide
The SRG study also found that Canadians tend to use tablets differently from smartphones. Despite the tablet’s portability, most owners tend to limit their use of the device within their own homes.
In fact, while the vast majority of Canadians take their smartphones with them when they leave the house, only 28% of tablet owners take the device with them.
Consumers owning both devices are also likely to have different apps on each. While an estimated 56% of tablet owners have e-book apps on their device, only 22% of smartphone owners have them on their device. The report also found similar disparities between apps in categories like entertainment (52% versus 40%) and games (76% versus 63%).
The only two areas in which Canadians were more likely to have an app on their smartphone, said SRG, were messaging and shopping.
The results are based on a survey of 1,000 Canadian consumers conduced in spring 2012 as part of SRG’s quarterly Digital Life Canada tracking study.
