BEGINS research published by the broadcasting regulators, Ofcom: “The tablet computer has established itself as a must-have device in just five years with more than half of UK homes now owning one.
“Apple’s iPad launched in the UK on 28 May 2010 and, alongside Android and other tablet devices, it is helping to shape the way we surf the internet, communicate and watch TV and video.
“The rapid rise in popularity of tablets means that over half of UK households (54 per cent) now have one, up from just two per cent in 2011.”
Among other findings, from the research:
* Among people aged 35-54, nearly two-thirds of this age group (64 per cent) have a tablet;
* Twenty-one per cent of households currently without a tablet told Ofcom they were likely to get one within the next 12 months;
* Seven in ten (71 per cent) children aged 5-15 had access to a tablet at home by the end of 2014, up from just over half (51 per cent) in 2013;
* One in three children (34 per cent) aged 5-15 have their own device – up from one in five (19 per cent) in 2013;
* One in ten (11 per cent) of 3-4 year-olds now have their own tablet;
* Over a quarter (26 per cent) of mobile users play games at least once a week;
* Eighty-six per cent of adults who go online on a tablet were using apps at the end of 2014, with 48 per cent of all app users typically getting their news headlines on an app, compared to 37 per cent who tend to use a web browser;
* Sixty-one per cent of app users mostly use a browser to find the information they are looking for, with 25 per cent tending to use an app;
* While more than one in three adults (37 per cent) use a tablet to go online at home, only 15 per cent appear to take their tablet with them when out and about – away from home, work or their place of study; and
* At the end of 2014, 58 per cent of people with a tablet connected at home were watching video clips online. 36 per cent were watching catch-up TV services such as BBC iPlayer or ITV Player.
Source: Ofcom, published May 27 2015.
