Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, May 2, 2019 Will tablets go mainstream, so much so that they’re the first device consumers reach for? A persistent yet small group of Americans use their tablet more than a smartphone or PC. Are the rest missing something? Might this edge group grow? The size of the tablet-first segment…
Favorite device combinations – flexibility and juggling [TUPdate]
Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, April 26, 2019 Users vote with their fingers, demonstrating what they like by what they actually use. The top combination includes four devices – a desktop, notebook, tablet, or smartphone – and actively used by one in six (16%) of online adults in the US. This is based on the…
Are we exclusive? An update on ecosystem exclusivity, dominance, and non-exclusivity [TUPdate]
Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, April 19, 2019 Do customers act on ecosystems, choosing to focus within a brand’s family for their products and services? How many technology users are exclusive, or at least favor one over another? Only one in eight (12%) of online adults around the world are truly exclusive, using products and…
How central and vital are home PCs? [TUPdate]
Home PCs users are very active, yet they don’t only stay at home on their computers. They use a wide variety of other connected devices. The majority of home PC users (82% to 95%) also use a mobile phone. Of these, smartphones dominate. It may some surprise those steeped in technology that basic cell phones/feature…
How and where PCs and tablets are used differently than smartphones [TUPdate]
Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, January 11, 2019
People love their Smartphones and find more to do with them than PCs or Tablets. Around the world, there are few activities done with PCs as regularly as are done with Smartphones. Furthermore, there are no activities done more so on Tablets than on either Smartphones or PCs. Usage profiles vary somewhat by country. Online adults in the U.S. use their connected devices differently than users in many other countries.
Are tablets and computers being used the same? [TUPdate]
Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, November 14, 2018
Is an iPad a computer? Is a Microsoft Surface a tablet? What about Chromebooks – how do they fit into the user’s uses? The major tech marketers are working to shift perceptions, such as Apple’s positioning of the iPad as a computer. Even though perceptions do shift buying decisions, user innovation and inertia are a force to reckon with. Many users have already pioneered ways to use their devices. We went straight to the users to see if they’re using tablets and notebooks the same, using iPads differently from Android tablets, and Windows notebooks from Chromebooks. Our basic hypothesis is that perceived differences, if substantial, can be confirmed by measuring user behavior.
iPads are more useful – based on users doing more with them. A higher share of users of recently-acquired home-owned tablets utilizes their Apple iPads for more of the major tablet activities than users of new Windows tablets or new home Android tablets. This is based on results from the MetaFacts TUP 2018 survey, conducted among 14,273 respondents across the US, UK, Germany, India, and China.
In home mobile devices, it’s Apple and Google outnumbering Microsoft [TUPdate]
Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, November 7, 2018
While pundits puzzle and debate, consumers lead the way. Is an iPad a computer, have smartphones replaced other mobile devices, and are PCs dead? Consumers continue to find their own ways and use what they choose, defying definitions, headlines, and experts. From among three dominant operating system ecosystems and three main types of mobile devices, home consumers have found their favorites.
Getting things done – The primary device from PCs to smartphones [TUPdate]
Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, March 28, 2020 Getting things done. Isn’t it one of the main explanations we offer when we’re buying our tech devices? While much of actual tech device usage is about entertainment, communication, and shopping, productivity has its solid place in everyday use. Whether using a PC, smartphone, tablet, or some…
Smartphones rise, PCs and printers float, tablets waver – user trends [TUPdate]
Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, March 23, 2018
The number of connected adults continues to rise in the US. Based on our TUP/Technology User Profile 2017 wave, there are 212.6 million adults who regularly connect to the Internet using a PC, mobile phone, tablet, or game console. This number is up 18.9 million from the 193.8 million adults we reported in our TUP 2013 wave.
While some of the increase has come from a growing adult population, the share of adults actively connected has also grown, due in large part to the increasing use of smartphones.
The use of tablets such as Apple’s iPad has also expanded since 2013, although declined somewhat in 2017.
Pocket full of fun – entertainment activities [MetaFAQs]
Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, February 1, 2018 Which is more fun – the one-trick-pony device that does one fun thing well, or the device you can use for many types of entertainment? In India, the most-preferred connected device for fun is a smartphone or a basic feature phone. Connected adults in India find more…