Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2010/05/21/ipad_user_survey/

iPad users put tablet to netbook tasks

Asus, Acer and co. need to worry more than Amazon does

By Tony Smith

Posted in Personal Tech, 21st May 2010 12:10 GMT

iPad owners are very happy with their purchase, it seems. Only two per cent of the are in any way unsatisfied with their purchase.

So reveals the results of a survey of just over 150 iPad owners carried out by US researcher ChangeWave. It found 74 per cent of respondents were "very satisfied" with the iPad and 17 per cent were "somewhat satisfied".

The equivalent "unsatisfied" responses - "very" and "somewhat" - each polled one per cent, with eight per cent of respondents claiming uncertainty.

Of course, you might expect such as sharp difference between the satisfied and the unsatisfied. The iPad will have largely been purchased by Apple's fan base, and many will still be within their honeymoon period with the new device.

What do they favour? In order, the size and quality of the iPad's display - selected by 21 per cent of respondents - the device's ease of use (15 per cent), its size and weight (12 per cent), and, in fourth place, portability (ten per cent).

Still, they're not above criticising the device, with the lack of Adobe Flash (11 per cent), issues with internet connectivity (nine per cent) and greasy-screen woes (nine per cent) topping the list of dislikes.

The two most common uses for the iPad: surfing the internet and checking email, both activities carried out by 83 per cent and 71 per cent of users, respectively. Just under half (48 per cent) use it for watching video, even fewer (18 per cent) for listening to music. Some 33 per cent use it to read books, 28 per cent to read periodicals. Just under a third (29 per cent) are gamers.

That's the picture you typically see with netbook usage patterns, suggesting the Apple device is far more of a threat to these gadgets than it is to e-book readers, phones or media players.

But what of the iPad's broader acceptance?

ChangeWave asked 3174 consumers how keen they were to buy an iPad. Seven per cent said they were very likely too, while 13 per cent said they were "somewhat likely". That's in contrast to scores of, respectively, four per cent and nine per cent polled when ChangeWave asked the same question back in February, after the iPad's introduction but before it went on sale. ®

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