The explosion of tablet computing has taken an unexpected turn, with as many as twenty per cent of consumers not satisfied with owning just one device and opting to buy a second or even a third. There has been much speculation on why this is happening, but the emerging idea seems to be that iPads are so attractive that friends and family are queuing up to borrow them.
One in five iPad owners has taken the plunge and bought a second device for their home because of the demand for their original tablet. Figures from YouGov, which tried to assess tablet usage in the UK, show that more than a third of iPad owners said they had to share their iPad with their partners, children and guests. This means that broadband internet providers will be kept busy providing this level of online access.
The revolutionary design of the iPad, which is famed for its user-friendly interface and easy set-up, has made it the clear market leader, with people flooding to buy more and more of the tablets.
YouGov said that the devices were attracting this kind of multi-person usage because of their incredible usefulness. They have been designed to be very appealing to the whole household. The TabletTrack research discovered that 14 per cent of iPad owners had bought a second device because their children were hogging the first one.
Also working strongly in Apple’s favour is the powerful brand loyalty the company engenders. More than 70 per cent of Apple iPad owners said they would choose the same model for their second purchase.
The survey asked 1,667 different households about their tablet usage and found that 782 owned an iPad. This comes as little surprise when you realise that Apple are selling as many as 4.19 million iPads per quarter.
The major benefit of having more than one tablet is that you can share your broadband connection without having to queue. Most broadband internet providers will offer a wi-fi system, which is more than capable of handling several tablet devices at one time.
This multiple ownership of iPads will reassure Apple, which has been the subject of much rumour about the release of the iPad 3. The second incarnation of the tablet has been on the market for a year and people are getting excited about the possibility of the third. The internet is filled with ideas of what will and will not be included on the device, such as processors, cameras and displays.
With Apple providing new and unique technology to the market, there is no doubt that multiple iPad ownership will continue to be a fact of life, with internet broadband providers benefitting by proxy. Fast, reliable internet access through a tablet device is quickly becoming a reality of the 21st century.
Other surveys in the United States have started to discover who iPad users really are. They have emerged as older and richer than average computer users. There was also information that people saw tablets as an extra device, rather than a replacement for their more traditional PCs. A small ten per cent said that they did not need a laptop as well as a tablet.
There is no doubt that iPads and tablets in general have become an important part of our online life. They have become a portal for the whole household to use but have not supplanted laptops and PCs.