I began working for a number of different trade publications in the consumer electronics space recently, and since then, I’ve found myself becoming something of a sucker for statistical consumer-based surveys.
This recent Computerworld story, for instance, mentions the results of a comScore survey in which 6,000 U.S. tablet owners were questioned. The market researchers divided the tablet owners into three separate categories: Owners of iPads, owners of Android tablets and owners of Kindle Fires. (According to the article, comScore made the decicion to separate owners of the Kindle Fire from owners of Android tablets; that decision was based on Google’s operating system.)
The surveys, at any rate, resulted in a handful of interesting stats, but here are a couple that grabbed my attention right away:
“The survey … showed that tablet owners were overall very satisfied with their respective devices, with the average reaching 8.6. That corresponding number for smartphone owners was 8.1. Owners of the iPad were the most satisfied with an 8.8 rating, followed closely by Kindle Fire owners at 8.7. Android tablet users came in slightly lower at a rating of 8.2, comScore said.” (Emphasis ours.)
“Apple’s iPad owners skewed male, slightly younger and wealthier that the average tablet buyer. The Kindle Fire, on the other hand, was more popular among female buyers—56.6 percent of the respondents that bought the Amazon tablet were women, according to comScore.” (Emphasis ours.)
Honestly, I’m not enough of a statistician to know if these particular numbers actually represent anything significant, or if a 6,000-person survey can actually tell us something true. Nevertheless, the results were interesting. Take a look at the Computerworld piece here.
I tried to ignore this article I really did.
Statistics and surveys; is there any greater expression of modern idiocy than these? I don’t think so, the tin pot Gods of witless devotion to numbers.
iPad and Kindle Fire are fixed combinations of OS and hardware. Android devices are an OS that runs on many different platforms and sometimes indifferently applied (old 2.3 on one device and 4.1 on another without an upgrade path).
So what would a survey show, and having shown it what does it actually show aside from the tendency to survey anything without having any real purpose in mind.
I love my Android tablet! I’ve had a Samsung Galaxy Tab for over a year and a half now and have 0 complaints. I don’t understand why more people don’t have one. It’s the perfect size for me. When I got it, I was worried because it wasn’t as big as an iPad, but I’ve discovered that it fits in all my purses.
The only thing I would like to do with it that I cannot currently do is make phone calls. Because of this I’m thinking of moving to the Galaxy Note when the Tab dies. I’m going to try to hold out as long as possible though.
I’m not crazy about my Toshiba Thrive, but that has more to do with the size than the operating system. It’s too heavy to hold comfortably for a long time and adds a lot of weight to a bag, and it’s too big to fit in my waistpack, so I end up using my iPod touch when I’m out and about and my regular computer at home. It has a lot of features that in theory I ought to like (such as the cameras), but in practice I don’t use; it doesn’t do enough to substitute for a laptop. Basically, the 10-inch tablet doesn’t fit my needs, and that’d probably be true even if I had an iPad.
I’m not in the market for a smartphone, but I’d definitely consider an Android equivalent of the iPod touch (or even an Android smartphone with WiFi and a pay-as-you-go phone plan).
Research can present the average reader with an impassable thicket. There are logical errors, statistical errors, sampling errors and more. With marketing types joining the fray, we also have deliberate distortion. There’s no way to get at these factors w/o analyzing the original documents, supporting data, research design, etc. It’s a jungle out there.
I have possibly two of the best tablets out there. The Nexus 7 at 7″ and the Asus Transformer Prime at 10″. Both perform different tasks and I use both. For playing games and reading, you can’t beat the lighter and smaller 7″ tablet. For browsing, the Transformer is better. I like the Transformer, but I really love the Nexus 7. If I had to choose only one, I’d get the Nexus 7.
Katie, you might want to check out apps like GrooveIP. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.snrblabs.grooveip&feature=nav_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDMsImNvbS5zbnJibGFicy5ncm9vdmVpcCJd I’m using the Pro version. Not sure what the differences between the Lite and paid versions are, but Groove IP works fairly well. I have not had sustained conversations, but it’s great for picking up a call when you are sitting with the tablet and making quick calls. Of course you need to have wifi available for it to work. So it’s not a real substitute for a phone.
Thanks for the recommendation, I’ll have to try it out.
Quick comment: I have done surveys in the past, and a surprising thing was that, given a homegenous public sample, even just 100 answers were enough. After that, changes more than 2-3% were rarely seen. So I’d say that 6,000 is more than sufficient, given of course that they are representative.
I have a 9 in android tablet w/keyboard. I do not like it very much at all. It takes forever to do things. The touch screen always picks up the thing next to what I touch.
I am returning it and getting a 14 in laptop with windows. Windows works better and is way faster. I am through with any touch screen and android. Just my opinion, if you like them go for it.