This might be the most pedestrian prediction that you will read for a long time but 2012 is shaping up to be the year of the tablet. Even though we can still just about remember the Christmas holidays, the IWR newsdesk is already losing count of the number of New Year announcements proclaiming X journal or Y product is now available on the iPad or similar such device.
But this trend was really confirmed by the claim that tablet use over Christmas and Boxing Day double compared with 2010. OK at 8% – according to eDigitalResearch and IMRG– the overall figures are still well into the minority territory but it is hard to see them doing anything other than increase and rapidly.
The results also saw record numbers of consumers visiting social media sites over the two days, with just under half (45%) of online users logging into their accounts, up from 20.8% last year. The annual Christmas activity survey also saw a 1% rise in the number going online with 86% of all UK online consumers now logging on over the two days. It is just part of our lives. And with the blurring of personal use and business use these figures must be seen as significant for the information professional.