Women are more likely to own Kindle's Fire tablet, men prefer the iPad
In such a short space of time, tablets have transformed personal computing. But why? What makes tablets so special and why do people like them so much? To find out, comScore asked 6,000 tablet users to discuss what they liked and disliked about their tablets.
Not surprisingly, Apple’s iPad scored very highly among its satisfied users. ComScore asked those surveyed to rank their satisfaction with their tablets on a scale of 1 to 10 and found that the iPad scored 8.8. Hot on the iPad’s heels, however, is the Kindle Fire, it scored an impressive 8.7.
The Kindle Fire is the highest-ranking Android tablet in the survey. All other Android tablets combined for an average score of 8.2.
“Somewhat surprisingly, consumers did not place strong importance on having the same operating system across their tablet and smartphone, with this factor falling outside of the top five consideration factors for iPad, Kindle Fire and the average tablet owner,” says the report. “This finding highlights the potential for brands, such as Microsoft with its recently announced Surface Tablet, to see consumer adoption in the tablet market even though they might lack strong penetration in the smartphone market.”
Key findings
iPad owners tend to earn more than Android owners. 46.3% of iPad owners surveyed reported an income of $100,000 or higher.
iPad owners said that the Apple brand and the amount of quality apps available were the two most important factors when it came to buying their tablet. Kindle Fire owners said price and app selection were the two most important factors.
There is also a significant gender gap between Kindle Fire owners and iPad owners. Women account for 56.6% of Kindle Fire owners while men account for 52.9? of iPad owners.
The tablet market today
Due to higher than expected demand in the second half of 2012, IDC has increased its worldwide forecast for tablet shipments from 106.1 million units to 107.4 million.
Apple’s iPad is expected to account for 62.5% of shipments, up from 58.2% in 2011 – while Android’s market share is expected to slip from 38.7% in 2011 to 36.5% in 2012.
