Early iPad Users Willing To Pay for Digital Content
A new Nielsen survey released Friday indicates that iPad users are consuming more web-based media content than users of smartphones, e-readers and other mobile gadgets. The media-tracking agency said the iPad trumps the iPhone and other mobile devices when it comes to print and video Relevant Products/Services viewing -- and a majority of iPad owners have downloaded and paid for content. Nielsen found that 53 percent of iPad owners regularly access news content, versus 44 percent of iPhone users. It's no great surprise that the iPad's 10-inch screen gives the trendy device an obvious edge in such content. However, 51 percent of iPad users also said they regularly access music content, versus just 41 percent of iPhone owners. The iPad's big screen also seems to make the device a more appealing platform for viewing marketing Relevant Products/Services materials. According to Nielsen, 39 percent of iPad users rated the ads displayed on their devices as "new and interesting," versus just 19 percent of connected-device users overall. Additionally, iPad users were also the most likely to have made a purchase as a result of seeing an ad, the firm said. An Early Adopter Hit Nielsen reports that 63 percent of iPad users say they have downloaded paid apps, while only five percent have restricted downloads to free offerings. Surprisingly, 32 percent of iPad users have not downloaded any apps to their devices. Apple said it sold 4.19 million iPads in its latest quarter -- a significant increase from the 3.27 million units shipped during the device's first three months of availability. Still, iPad sales fell "slightly below street consensus estimates" overall for the quarter, noted Piper Jaffray analyst Andrew Murphy. Though other financial analysts were disappointed by Apple's iPad numbers, 4.19 million iPads was "in line with our estimates," Murphy said. "We are expecting 5.5 million iPads" to be sold in the year-ending quarter, he added. With respect to the consumer market overall, Nielsen said 25 percent own smartphones, six percent own an e-reader, and four percent own a tablet. Among tech-savvy early adopters, however, 48 percent own a tablet, 35 percent own an e-reader, and 30 percent own a smartphone. Gartner believes that as tablets move from early adopters to mainstream, the devices will become a family purchase as well as a personal one. "The touch user interface, the applications available on the different operating systems, and the simpler setup compared to a full-fledged computer make media tablets ideal for a range of consumers -- from power Relevant Products/Services users to technophobics," the firm's analysts said. Some of the iPad's early adopters represent market segments that traditionally are slow to adopt new technologies. "Enterprise CIOs are adding iPad to their approved-device list at an impressive rate," Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer told investors on Monday. "Over 65 percent of the Fortune 100 are already deploying or piloting iPad." Apple COO Tim Cook said he has never seen enterprise Relevant Products/Services adoption rates like this for a new technology. "We're also seeing the iPad begin to pick up interest" among educators, "which is another market that historically adopts very, very slowly," he said. Gartner forecasts that tablet sales to end users will reach 19.5 million units globally for 2010. If Piper Jaffray's fourth-quarter iPad estimate proves to be accurate, this potentially leaves room for Apple's tablet rivals to sell about 5.8 million devices. Shoppers looking to buy a tablet as a gift this holiday season should note that the devices appear to have greater appeal among men than women. Sixty-five percent of iPad users are male, and 63 percent of them are under the age of 35, Nielsen said.
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