Why Tablets Will Be Most Sought-After Devices Like Notebooks?

Why Tablets Have Become Users’ Most Preferred Device?

“PC sales had dropped to their lowest level in history, with global shipments falling by 10.9 per cent in the second quarter of 2013.” Not only Pcs, sale of notebooks have also dropped drastically.

Do you want to know why?

According to the latest research report from IDC, “Tablet shipments are on target to surpass those of both the laptop and desktop PC by 2015.”

A new study released in May 2013, claimed that tablet shipments will grow 59% this year to 229.3 million units, a figure which is higher than the firm’s forecast for 2013 notebook shipments, and reckons that they will eventually top PC shipments two years later.

It’s no secret; more and more users are turning to mobile devices, such as, tablets and smartphones. These devices are the new toys in the market. Users find these devices more accessible to engage with online content. These on-the-go devices have become everyone’s favorite, including, students, businessmen, professionals and even kids.

Tablet adoption rate

Tablet adoption rate is growing with every year in the U.S and has doubled to 34% adults at the end of May 2013. Pew Research Center surveyed 2,252 adults by telephone from April to May for a new report. And found that tablet adoption rate rose from 18% in 2012 to 34% in 2013. Fig. 1 shows remarkable growth in the tablet adoption rate where, it was as low as 8% two years ago and 3% in 2010.

Fig. 1

Worldwide mobile PC shipment forecast

According to the latest quarterly report on mobile PC shipments by DisplaySearch, tablet shipments will reach 364 million worldwide in 2014, a figure which is significant because the researcher believes that this will be more than double the 177 million shipments forecast for standard notebook and ultra-slim PCs.

Fig. 2

The credit of boom in the Tablet market goes to two most of the prominent platforms and the various devices they launched in the market. Here is a list of the major tablet platforms and various tablet devices that are reaching innumerable users every day.

Major Tablet Platforms

• iOS
• Android
• Windows
• And Blackberry

Major Tablet Players and their position in the market

• Apple iPad and iPad Mini
• Samsung Galaxy Tab, Tab 2
• Google Nexus 7 and 10
• Barnes and Nobles’ Nook
• Amazon’s Paperwhite, Kindle Fire HD, and Fire HD 8.9”

Tablet Market-share

iPad reigned the tablet market and became the first preference of many. But now the Android ecosystem has proved that it could catch up with Apple’s iPad devices. With the introduction of Amazon's Kindle Fire brand and Google's own Nexus 7 series built with mobile OEM partners, there is a surge in the demand of Android devices.

Windows Surface RT and Surface Pro - As per the most recent figures from IDC, “1.8 million Windows 8 tablets were sold in the second quarter of 2013, for a 4% market share. That's compared to a 1% market share the year previous, and a year-over-year growth rate of 527%.”

Fig. 3

 Reasons behind the booming demand for tablets

The tablet devices forayed in the global market as mere PC companions. But now the devices are dominating all others as users are using them for everything, from checking e-mails and Facebook profiles to playing games and accessing the web.

Why tablets have become users’ most preferred device?

1. Affordable – Tablets are inexpensive. As per a Gartner report, “In emerging markets, inexpensive tablets have become the first computing device for many people, which is accounting for the collapse of the mini notebook market.”

2. Constant connectivity and engagement – Tablets connect and engage users. For instance;

• Brands connect with their potential consumers through various apps and e-commerce sites;
• Users connect with their friends through social media sites and various other chat apps, photo apps such as, Scribbly (fig. 4), Instagram, Pinterest; 

Fig. 4

• Students connect with educationists and have access to the glut of information, including newspapers, TV channels, e-books and dictionaries;
• Parents engage their toddlers through various learning apps, such as, Intro to Letters (fig. 5), Intro to Math, Alpha Writer; 

Fig. 5

• Travelers connect to the world through apps such as, Lonely Planet's 1000 Ultimate   Experience;
• Food enthusiasts look for recipes through apps such as, Nom Nom Paleo (fig. 6)

Fig. 6

In a nutshell, tablets are growing in almost all the aspects, such as, business, education, health and medical, entertainment etc. and offering a unique blend of connectivity and mobility.

For more information on iPhone app developers and app marketing strategy send in your email to marketing@ymedialabs.com

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Why Tablets will become the Future of Education?

With the Introduction of Tablets in Classrooms, E-Books are Just a Click Away

Fig. 1

Before coming to the conclusion, let’s peep inside the classrooms and see what’s going on:

- Long Island University in New York has deployed at least 16,000 iPads for its students, with 3,000 more on the way, according to George Baroudi, CIO, vice president of IT and chief business process improvement officer at the school.

- Widhalm’s school recently received a $266,000 grant to purchase mini iPads for every student.

- The Los Angeles Unified School District—the second largest school district in the country recently spent $30 million to deploy 35,000 iPads to students.

- Smaller districts such as, Guilford County school district in North Carolina is also going the tech way, and, come fall, 20,000 tablets will be distributed to all middle school students.

-  Many districts have begun the process of tablets replacing textbooks. Muller Road Middle School in South Carolina has already gone paperless. This fall, the Susquenita School District in Pennsylvania will replace textbooks with iPads for students in grades eight through ten, and may carry over to students in grades 10 and 11, if deemed successful. And schools like Burlington High School in Massachusetts have pledged to stop buying textbooks.

- The Jackson Christian School in Jackson, Tennessee have gone "virtually paperless" as a result of adopting iPads and digital textbooks.

- The Holy Family School in Ashland has begun using iPads to improve English by teaching children to rap, while the Eastlake Middle School in Chula Vista, California has combined the tablet with a specialized app to improve Physical Education.

The list doesn’t end here. This is just the beginning of a new tech-ed era, where tablets are replacing text-books and students as well as educational institutions are happily adopting the new transformations in the field of education.

Not only the schools and universities are desirous of adopting tablets for daily use in the classrooms, tech companies are also helping in pushing the technology in the classrooms. For instance, Microsoft, under its “Windows in the Classroom Surface Experience Project,” offered to give away Surface RTs to the first 10,000 registrants for the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) conference in San Antonio June 2013. In addition, the tech giant is now offering its Surface RT tablets for $199 to educational institutions in 25 countries.

Tablet Revolution in the Education World

The growth in the mobile devices market spurred a new way of learning. There are approximately 1.5-billion mobile devices, such as, smartphones, tablets and mini-tablets in existence today. And by 2018, the number is expected to explode to 7.5-billion screens, or more than one for every person on the planet.

It is estimated that mobile users worldwide will download 70 billion apps in 2013. And over 10% of all tablet apps are dedicated toward education and learning, including toddlers. With so many educational apps available on the app stores, learning has become fun in the classrooms. Students have access to thousands of educational apps such as, Mathematics, Science, History and Geography via App Stores. Major publishers, such as, Pearson, are also plunging in the edu-tech world and are helping in digitally delivering textbooks to iPads via apps.

Why Tablets will become the Future of Education?

• Entertainment + Learning = Improved Learning – tablets help students in improved learning experience
• Interactive and Engaging – students can take polls, tweet questions, and look up information during the class
• Expandable Memory - students can keep hundreds of books at one place
• Affordable – tablets can diminish printing, data storage, and textbook costs by keeping the information in the cloud.
• Quick Access - Students have access to up-to-the-minute information on Tablets

Top Devices available for students

• Apple’s iPad
• Amazon’s Kindle
• Google’s Nexus 7 and other Android tablets
• Microsoft Surface
• Barnes & Noble’s Nook

Top Educational Apps Available on App Store for students

1. HMH FUSE Algebra 1 - HMH Fuse Algebra 1 Common Core Edition gives every student a personalized learning experience using video tutorials, MathMotion step-by-step examples, homework help, quizzes, tips, hints, and many other integrated features to teach, review, and assess all concepts.

Fig. 2

2. Oxford Picture Dictionary, Second Edition - The Oxford Picture Dictionary app provides instant access, anytime and anywhere, to the bestselling picture dictionary.

Fig. 3

3. PBS Parents Play & Learn HD - PBS’ first app designed specifically for parents, PBS Parents Play & Learn provides more than a dozen games parents can play with their kids, each themed around a familiar location–including at the grocery store, at home, in the kitchen, and more. The bilingual (English/Spanish) app makes it easy for parents to seize upon those daily “teachable moments” through theme-based interactive games and simple hands-on activities that connect math and literacy skills to everyday experiences.

Fig. 4

4. POETRY from the Poetry Foundation – The app allows users to take thousands of poems by classic and contemporary poets on the go. From William Shakespeare to César Vallejo to Heather McHugh, the Poetry Foundation’s app turns your phone, iPod Touch or iPad into a mobile poetry library. The app is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad and requires iOS 4.3 or Android 1.6 and up.

Fig. 5

5. School Fuel – The app is a mobile learning platform that allows teachers and school leaders to connect with students in class and on the go. School Fuel App provide customized app libraries aligned to Common Core Standards helping schools deliver the right apps to the right students at the right time-on any device.

Fig. 6

6. Wonders of the Universe - Take a mind-blowing 3D tour of the Universe with Professor Brian Cox as your guide. Journey up from the smallest particles, past the moons and planets of the Solar System, out through the Oort Cloud to the Milky Way, past our local stars and out to distant galaxies before arriving, finally, at the edge of the known Universe.

For more information on iPhone app developers and app marketing strategy send in your email to marketing@ymedialabs.com

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How to Capitalize on the Mobile Video Viewing Shift

Mobile Video appears to be a New Additive for Marketers

The exponential growth in mobile devices such as, tablets, smartphones, e-readers etc. has paved the way for new marketing channels. Marketers can use an array of tools and techniques to ensure the success of their business. For instance, after using text messaging services, they are now experimenting with creating mobile videos to widen their reach to their potential customers.

Growth of Mobile Devices

Mobile devices accounted for around half of all mobile-phone sales in Q1 2013, compared with roughly 40% for the whole of 2012. The number of total mobile subscriptions grew by 8% globally year-on-year by Q1 2013.(Source: BusinessInsider)

A Glimpse of Mobile Video's Growth

Video consumption has gained substantial ground in 2012; however, its expansion on mobile devices, such as, tablets and smartphones grew manifold in 2013.  Fig. 1 shows the difference between the rate of growth in mobile video consumption in 2012 and 2013.[Source: BI Intelligence]

Fig. 1

The growth in mobile audience means increased engagement and revenue opportunities for the marketers. Tablet users can be termed as the early adopters who would likely spend more money and consume more media content [Fig. 1]. Marketers can target these audiences and formulate their mobile video strategy accordingly. And not surprisingly, Apple devices continue to dominate video viewing with a 60 % of share, whereas, Android comprises 31 % in comparison.

Fig. 2

 Social Media + Videos = High Engagement

The continuous rise in the mobile users’ interest towards visual content has given marketers an opportunity to present their brands in a new and interesting form. Many have increased their social media marketing efforts to attract more engaged digital video viewers. [Fig.3]

Fig. 3

 More and more people are spending time on video sharing and social networking and various other blogs. Although all the mobile devices let users search or go direct to videos, but, social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube offers more engagement. In fig.4 Starbucks Coffee shared a video on their Facebook page, which got 14,939 likes from their followers.

Fig. 4

 Effect on viewers after watching videos

A recent research report on Social Video shows that if marketers get successful in capturing the attention of their target audience, chances are high that they will either access the website of the brand that created that video, or like the video or both. Fig. 5 shows the behavior of the target audience after watching the videos on various channels.

Fig. 5

How Marketers can capitalize on the Video Viewing Shift?

1. Create videos that interest the target viewers: focus on creating content that’s quick and engaging and can be easily viewed by the users on the go. Make the content easy to share so that the mobile users can share the video with their connections.

Fig. 6 shows the most popular video categories viewed (weekly) on various video sharing sites by the users.

Fig. 6

 2. Marketers can share videos on various:

I) Social media sites (Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Path) – Mobile devices have become the primary devices where they constantly logged in to their social media profiles. Smartphones are the on-the-go devices whereas, tablets have become the bedtime devices. 

II) Video Sharing site (YouTube, Netflix) – In the month of March this year, YouTube, named as the video Mecca, announced a major milestone: one billion monthly users. That’s nearly half the entire user base of the internet. YouTube, the most popular video sharing site passes 4 billion video views daily [HubSpot Research]. As a result, the site has become a favorite platform for marketers to exhibit their products and services.

III) Mobile Apps (Vimeo, Vine, Klip, Instagram) – Over the last two years, the U.S. mobile video audience has increased 77% to 36 million viewers (Source: BusinessInsider).
Brands looking to reach a large video audience for their commercials can upload their video commercials on mobile apps, which are frequently accessed by the users.

Fig. 7

 IV) Video Blogging – is another in-thing in the present times where marketers can build connections and interact with the target viewers like no other blogging format. Brands can also participate in various awards such as, Shorty Industry Awards for Best Use of Video in a Social Media Campaign for more recognition and fame among the target audience.

V) Company website – Adding videos in the company website is a tried and tested technique. According to Forrester Research reports, “a video that is properly submitted (tags, descriptions) is 50 times more likely to hit the front page of Google when compared to standard marketing techniques.” 

3. Communicates with viewers: Marketers can create campaigns where they can ask the viewers to create their own videos. This ensures engagement and makes communication a two-way process.

Are you looking to increase the traffic on your website or want to establish you brand among masses? Mobile video marketing is the way to do it.

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