Surveys ask: How are we using our iPads?

Surveys ask: How are we using our iPads?
By MIKE MURPHY
Good Morning Silicon Valley

A pair of surveys released today detail the latest trends in what people are doing with their iPads. The interesting bits in a nutshell: The wildly popular Apple tablets are being used more, and more often for business purposes.

The third annual iPad usage survey from Business Insider found that people are spending significantly more time on their tablets. 47 percent of those polled use their iPad between two and five hours a day, up from 41 percent last year and 38 percent in 2010, and 10 percent use it five to eight hours a day (up from 8 percent last year). Overall, 64 percent reported increasing their time on the iPad once they got past the giddy initial exploratory phase. That increased usage is coming at the expense of desktops and laptops — 47 percent now consider their iPad their primary computer, up from 29 percent in 2010. Web surfing is the most popular iPad activity (taking up 37 percent of users’ time), followed by email and social networking (21 percent). The survey found almost 60 percent of web browsing by those polled is now done away from a traditional computer, with 45 percent using their iPads the most and 14 percent using smartphones the most. People also seem to be happy with their iPads — 84 percent have no interest in a Kindle Fire or Nexus 7 tablet, and 70 percent say they wouldn’t be interested in a smaller iPad.

In a separate survey, Consumer Intelligence Research Partners found that business usage increased among buyers of the third-generation iPad, according to All Things D. The report found 21 percent of new iPad users intended to use if for business purposes, 8 percent more than those buying older-model iPads. That could indicate that as the iPad gets more powerful and more enterprise apps are built, the tablets are being seen as must-have items by corporate America. All Things D notes that 94 percent of Fortune 500 companies are jumping on the iPad bandwagon. “Now that Apple has launched three generations of the iPad, it’s become clear that they intend it as a tool, not a toy, especially with the improved display and faster connection,” CIRP partner Michael Levin told All Things D.

All in all, more good news for Apple as it prepares to announce its quarterly earnings next week.