Waning Novelty Bringing Decline in Tablet Usage, ecoATM Survey Finds

More than a quarter of tablet owners use their tablets less frequently than they thought they would after the initial purchase, an ecoATM survey found. Noting that tablet shipments “have been on a steady decline,” and that the volume of tablets traded in through ecoATM doubled in Q1 from the same quarter a year ago, the supplier of e-waste recycling kiosks set out to determine whether those trends reflected a diminishing consumer appetite for tablets, the company said in a Wednesday announcement. It commissioned a study in which 1,175 U.S. tablet owners were canvassed earlier this month on their tablet usage habits, it said. It found that about 26 percent said they use their tablets an average of less than three hours a week, and 8 percent said they no longer use them at all, it said. The findings suggested that lack of “utility” might well be the main reason why the novelty of tablet usage has waned, it said. For example, a clear majority (60 percent) of those canvassed indicated they prefer using a laptop instead of a tablet, while 26 percent said their smartphones gives them all the functionality they need, it said.