Tablets reach critical mass? Impacting video

A preview of a new report by comScore on the tablet market claimed that tablets have already reached critical mass, with 1 in 4 smartphone users using tablets in the last quarter.  In addition, the report indicated that users were three times as likely to use tablets to watch videos than using smartphones, and with 9.5% of tablet owners reporting that they watched video on their devices "almost every day".  Further, of those watching at least monthly, 26.7% reported that they had paid to watch video content - good news for video producers and distributors.

“Tablets are one of the most rapidly adopted consumer technologies in history and are poised to fundamentally disrupt the way people engage with the digital world both on-the-go and perhaps most notably, in the home,” said Mark Donovan, comScore SVP of Mobile. “It’s not surprising to see that once consumers get their hands on their first tablet, they are using them for any number of media habits including TV viewing.”

   Demographics of tablet users were generally comparable with smartphone users, although tablet users skewed slightly older, and with slightly higher incomes.  The biggest reported difference was in video watching, particularly in measure that suggest using tablets to watch video is becoming a habit - 50.3% of tablet owners watch at least monthly, 18.9% watch at least weekly, and nearly 1 in 10 reported watching "almost every day."
  The tablet/mobile market seems well on the way to establishing itself as an important component of the media/info ecosystem. (see earlier post on Tablet Revolution)

Sources -  Tablets Gain Mobile Video Viewers,  Research Brief from the Center for Media Research
Majority of Tablet Users Watch Video on their Device, 1 in Every 4 Viewers Pay to Watch, comScore press release