About the 11% of the U.S. Population That Owns a Tablet

The Tablet Revolution.  How People Use Tablets and What It Means for the Future of News.  (Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism, 10/25/2011)

Excerpt: The study, conducted by the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism in collaboration with The Economist Group, finds that the vast majority of tablet owners-fully 77%-use their tablet every day. They spend an average of about 90 minutes on them.

Consuming news (everything from the latest headlines to in-depth articles and commentary) ranks as one of the most popular activities on the tablet, about as popular as 

• sending and receiving email (54% email daily on their tablet), and more popular than 
• social networking (39%), 
• gaming (30%), 
• reading books (17%) or 
• watching movies and videos (13%). The only activity that people said they were more likely to do on their tablet computer daily is browse 
• the web generally (67%).

[Bullets added]

The survey also finds that three-in-ten tablet news users (defined for this study as the 77% of all tablet users who get news at least weekly) say they now spend more time getting news than they did before they had their tablet. Just 4% say they spend less time while two-thirds (65%) spend about the same amount of time.

A third (33%) of tablet news users say they are turning to new sources for news on their tablet, sources they had not turned to on other platforms such as television or their desktop computer. And, more than four in ten (42%) say they regularly read in-depth news articles and analysis on their tablet.

Tablet news users also say they now prefer their new devices over traditional computers, print publications or television as a way both to get quick news headlines and to read long-form pieces.

Related posts:
Prediction:  Tablets overtake ereaders by end of year.  (6/20/2011)
Falling behind:  We don't even own a tablet yet.  (6/15/2011)
iPad becomes central part of many business operations.  (3/13/2011)
Houston Public Library launches iPad pilot program for children.  (1/31/2011)
iPad no savior for magazine publishers.  (1/18/2011)
iPads in the classroom.  (12/15/2010)
"Purpose-built" vs. multipurpose machines.  (8/8/2010)
iPad introduced to an already overburdened digital world.  (1/28/2010)
Tablet computers: an over-the-shoulder look.  (1/27/2010)
Apple Tablet makes it easier to buy Don Draper's hat.  (1/27/2010)
And in particular.....
Print media hopes Apple Tablet comes with eraser.  (1/26/2010)