Top three uses for tablets: email, information management, multimedia

(robnroll)

Future tablet owners plan to use their portable touchscreen devices to send emails, manage their personal information and consume media like movies, music and games.

"After close to a decade of negligible demand, the tablet market is finally gaining mass market appeal" says market researcher In-Stat in a report titled US Consumers' Attitudes and Behaviours Toward the Emerging Tablet Market released on January 18.

"Last year's small crop of tablets was being touted as potential e-readers; a way to compete against the extremely popular Amazon Kindle lineup," says Stephanie Ethier, Senior Analyst for In-Stat.  "But this next generation of tablets is clearly being marketed as consumer multimedia consumption devices positioned to compete squarely against the Apple iPad."

As competition in the tablet market increases during the first half of 2011, so too will consumer's expectations about what a tablet should be able to accomplish for them.

Consumers want to be able to use the portable device to perform light work and social tasks like sending emails as well has have full control over their personal information with the touch of a finger.

On the go or couch-based media consumption is also a huge draw-card for tablet users who want to be able to watch the latest TV series, listen to their media library, or tweet to their followers from wherever they are.

Nearly 55 percent of people surveyed who own tablets said they spend nine or more hours per week using their tablet.

A second report made available on January 19 by Canadian firm Deloitte suggests that in 2011 we will start to see more tablets in the enterprise sector.

In its report, 2011 Global Technology, Media & Telecommunications Predictions, Deloitte predicts that more than 25 percent of all tablet computers (more than ten million units) will be bought by enterprises this year.

"[M]any consumers initially buy tablet computers as personal media devices, but quickly discover they are useful for work," says Deloitte.