As per a survey conducted by InMobi, in partnership with Mobext, smartphones have taken over conventional fixed devices like desktops and laptops. Further, smartphone will continue to be the most preferred devices for entertainment and communication with tablets coming close second.
The survey was undertaken to understand how consumers use mobile connected devices in India, with mobile internet usage surpassing desktop internet usage in 2012.
The survey covered more than 2,800 respondents across the country. The survey findings revealed that about 54 per cent of Indian desktop users and 56 per cent of smartphone users are likely to purchase a tablet in next six months. About 80 per cent of respondents shared that the mobile/smartphones was their primary device while 13 per cent stated that they were using laptops/desktops as a primary device and for 7 per cent tablet was the primary device.
According to the survey, the average connected Indian consumes five hours of media daily with mobile representing 33 per cent of it. More than over 50 per cent of Indians spend at least one hour a day accessing media content from their tablet devices and 66 per cent of tablet users found it more convenient to access content using tablets as compared to smartphones and laptops. In India, over 40 per cent of tablet owners used their tablets while watching TV.
Mobile/smartphones emerged as the most preferred device with 46 per cent respondents using it for communication, 43 per cent using it for entertainment and another 40 per cent using it for sourcing information.
The survey shows that the device purchase overshadowed other media consumption habits. For instance, 21 per cent of smartphone users tend to read fewer books in print, while 22 per cent decreased their TV viewing hours and 16 per cent spent reduced time on the internet via a laptop. In-store behaviour of consumers was also affected as the survey shows that about 15.7 per cent of smartphone buyers and 16 per cent of tablet buyers made fewer visits to physical store.
According to the survey, over 70 per cent of users across all devices spent maximum time on entertainment related activity such as games, videos and music, communicating with friends, and looking up for information. More than 30-40 per cent of respondents surveyed used their tablets for activities like shopping, business and banking.
