The American Tablet Computer Love Affair Is Just Starting

Americans have certainly embraced televisions, smartphones and the Internet, as 119 million households have four or more TV sets, 212 million Internet users are active online and more than half of households now own a smartphone, according to Nielsen’s new U.S. Consumer Usage Report 2012.

One of the big drivers of Internet and smartphone usage has been social media.  Social media continues to increase across all platforms with 164 million users on the computer, 85 million using a smartphone app, and 81 million using a mobile web browser.

But there is still so much expansion left.  Surprisingly, only 16 percent of television homes own a tablet, according to the report.  That statistic is likely to skyrocket as more tablets hit the scene, which you can absolutely expect to happen.  One of the reasons tablets have really started to explode is due to Google’s open source Android software that has driven down tablet prices and enabled companies like Samsung to quickly make a dent in Apple’s market share.  It’s important to remember that the current generation tablet market is relatively young, only really becoming popular in 2010, when Apple introduced the first iPad.

In fact, approximately two-thirds of online consumers expect to purchase a tablet sometime in the future, with 45 percent planning to purchase a tablet within the next two years, according to the Consumer Electronic Association’s Consumer Outlook on Tablets: Q4 2012 Report.

This week, companies at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas are expected to unveil a litany of tablets, many built around Microsoft’s Windows 8.  Some of the tablets making headings: Lenovo’s 27-inch IdeaCentre Horizon Tablet, Vizio’s Tablet PC,  ASUS’s VivoTab Smart Tablet and Samsung’s new Galaxy Note 7 tablet.

Oh and the VCR?  It has declined dramatically in ownership (shocker).  Only 55% of households now own a VCR compared with 93% in 2003.