MetaFacts TUP/Technology User Profile analysis results for subscribers
Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, December 12, 2020 Are mobile devices like smartphones, tablets, and laptops more popular among younger than older users? Is there a favorite combination among Americans – such as being mobile with only a smartphone, or instead using all three mobile devices? This MetaFAQs reports on the combinations of mobile devices…
Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, November 28, 2020 Tablets are made to be mobile, but are they being used that way? Have tablets made inroads into the workplace or schools? This MetaFAQs reports on the locations that tablets are being used among online adults in three countries and over five years. About MetaFAQs MetaFAQs are…
Notebook Penetration – Now in the Middle of Mobility Notebooks have continued their long march into widespread use, fueled by the desire to get things done regardless of location. The years-long drive towards mobility continues. However, users have shown that notebooks are not their only choice to support their mobility fix. Even while notebooks have…
Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, November 12, 2020 Smartphones, tablets, and notebooks are all mobile devices, and yet a desire for mobility alone does not mean that online adults will actively use all three. This MetaFAQs looks at the penetration of at least one actively-used smartphone, notebook, or tablet among online adults in the US,…
Mobile computing means much more than being able to work or play while traveling. Despite travel restrictions and worldwide stay-at-home orders during the pandemic, mobile computers reign as the most popular home computer. Well over half (57%) of online adults use a home notebook, compared to 46% using at least one home desktop. MetaFacts surveyed online adults in six countries for the 2020 wave of TUP/Technology User Profile: the US, UK, Germany, China, Japan, and India. Notebook use is strongest in Japan (72% of online adults) and Germany (67%), and the lightest in the US (50%).
It can be exciting to see the hockey-stick charts, with everything up and to the right. It’s important to put the numbers into context, though, through a more grounded analysis of the active installed base. Yes, Apple’s long-climb into broader use of their triumvirate is substantial, Smartphones are quickly replacing basic cell phones, and PCs and printers persist. Their market size confirms their importance.
We, humans, are wired to notice a change. Our very eyes send more information about motion than the background. While life-saving should tigers head our way, this capability can be our undoing if we miss gradual changes, like the slithering snake in the grass creeping towards us. Watching an installed base of technology has some parallels. For some, it can seem as if nothing is really changing even while important shifts are taking place.
Which comes first – Smartphone? Tablet? Notebook? For a small and steadily growing segment, the tablet comes first as the primary connected device.
Over the last three years, the share of connected adults using a tablet as their primary device has expanded. In our 2014 wave of TUP, we found that 6% of adults were using a tablet as their primary device – before a PC, mobile phone, or game console. In TUP 2015, the tablet-first rate had grown to 7% and by TUP 2016, reached 9%.