Nielsen study reveals user tablet and e-reader habits

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A new study by the Nielsen Company sheds light on how people use their tablets, e-readers and smart phones. And, as you might imagine, the findings are not particularly surprising, even if it is interesting to see if other people use the device the same way as yourself.

According to the study,which involved surveying 12,000 device owners, 68 percent of smartphone owners used their device while watching television. The same goes for 70 percent of tablet users. Of those with e-readers, however, only 35 percent admit to using their device while the TV was on. This, of course, makes perfect sense. It is far more difficult and substantially less enjoyable to read while the TV is on, compared to checking Twitter or browsing the Web.

Among users who use their device while in bed, the stats were much closer, wih 61 percent of e-reader owners and 57 of tablet owners saying they use their gadget before lights out. Only 51 percent of smartphone users said the same.

Not only do tablet and e-reader users play with their devices while in bed or watching TV, but they spend a significant portion of that time with electronics in their hands. Of e-reader owners, 37 percent of the time they use their device is done so while in bed, but a mere 15 percent of usage is done while in front of the tube. Tablet owners spend a third of their usage hours while also watching television, and 21 percent while in bed.

This information certainly provides some useful insight to electronics makers, who are looking to discover how their devices are being used in the real world. It seems as though e-readers are being used, essentially, the same as books or magazines. And tablets are obviously being used a large portion of the time for casual purposes, rather than actual work. Which means that, while the “post-PC era” has certainly arrive, the PC will still have its place — at the office.

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