Forecasts Indicate Even More Smartphone and Tablet Growth by 2014

Posted by: Matthew Bick // February 29th, 2012

If you already thought that smartphones and tablets had overrun society, then you might want to begin preparations now.  A recent study from eMarketer reports that smartphone and tablet market penetration will only increase.  In smartphones alone, the increase will be enormous.  eMarketer currently estimates that there are 106.7 million smartphone users in the United States, representing 44% of mobile phone users.  That figure is set to increase by 8.8% to 52.8% of mobile phone users by 2014, representing 133 million Americans who will have a smartphone.

Tablets are expected to grow even faster than their slightly smaller counterparts.  Tablets are currently used by 22.9% of all internet users, approximately 54.8 million Americans.  89.5 million internet users are expected to use tablets by 2014, an increase of 12.7% to 35.6% of all American internet users. 

This continued growth likely means even more growth in mobile and tablet-specific app development as well as mobile web site development.  As an increasing number of users access the internet from devices other than laptops, there will be a much greater demand for content and functionality specifically designed for those devices.

@MatthewBick

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No Buyer’s Remorse For Tablet, iPad Owners

Posted by: Neil James // March 7th, 2011

No Buyers Remorse For Tablet iPad Owners

In just slightly more than a year, the good folks at Apple succeeded at carving out permanent residency in our grey matter for the concept of “iPad,” and to a lesser extent, “tablet computers.” Even casual observers noticed how the steady proliferation of iPads in their office building was not entirely dissimilar from the growth of an unchecked pest population. The hypersonic speed of adoption, however, leaves one question for the puzzled cynic: did people buy these tablets because they were cool or because they fulfilled an actual need?

While we certainly can’t discount the former, new research compiled by eMarketer, High Satisfaction Rates Support a Bright Future For Tablets, indicates a healthy dose of the latter. Citing a December 2010 report from the NPD Group, more than two-thirds of tablet owners expressed satisfaction with internet browsing and e-mail experiences on their network and 60 percent reported the same for social networking. As a result, approximately three in 10 were doing these activities less on their PCs as a result. Satisfaction rates for all three online activities were noticeably higher for tablet users compared to smartphone users as well.

@NeilAndrewJames

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Study: Consumers Exposed to iPad Ads Display Substantially Higher Brand Recall

Posted by: Neil James // February 22nd, 2011

Study Consumers Exposed to iPad Ads Display Substantially Higher Brand Recall

Since the iPad made its celebrated debut almost a year ago, marketers have wondered how this unique device would function as an advertising platform. Would the vibrant graphics and slick interface create an experience worth Apple’s million dollar barrier to advertising entry? A new study by Nielsen, as chronicled by Kunur Patel in an article for Advertising Age, Apple, Campbell’s Say iAds Twice as Effective, suggests the affirmative. In a five-week study, Nielsen found that consumers shown Campbell’s ad on the iPad remembered the brand “Campbell’s” five times more often than TV ad respondents. Ad messaging was similarly recalled three times more frequently. Perhaps most importantly, Nielsen reported that iPad ad respondents reported purchase intent of Campbell’s to be four times that of TV ad respondents!

@NeilAndrewJames

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It’s Official: You Can No Longer Ignore Tablet PCs, iPads

Posted by: Neil James // January 21st, 2011

We know how you operate Mr. Cynical Marketer. Your finely tuned nose can differentiate fads from actual paradigm shifts a mile away. Your trend detecting abilities have kept your career alive while lesser folk fell around you. So every time you see someone whip out an iPad or catch that snazzy commercial on TV, you wonder “is this tablet thing really for real?” After all, how much utility can consumers actually derive from that vacuous space between smartphones? Surely they won’t pay several hundred dollars up front plus a monthly data subscription charge for this limited utility?

It appears, however, that cynicism will lead marketeres in the wrong direction according to a new article from Internet Retailer, iPad Sales Will More Than Double Next Year Research Firm Predicts. Citing a recent eMarketer study, Internet Retailer reports that 8.5 million iPads were sold in 2010 – a figure projected to rise to 19.4 million in the coming year and 30.1 million in 2012! Internet Retailer cautions marketers to not simply force tablet consumers under an existing mobile strategy. These numbers necessitate, Internet Retailer argues, that marketers develop a strategy that accounts for the key differences between tablet, smartphone, and PC users (such as the iPad’s current inability to render Flash.)

@NeilAndrewJames

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