Research Shows Tablets Are Primarily Used For Entertainment

The market for tablets is steadily growing and even outpacing the business of selling PCs, but consumers seem more interested in using their gadgets for entertainment than work or communication.

Tablet users spent 50% of their screen time on entertainment pastimes like games, movies and listening to music, according to new research from Gartner. People who own the most popular tablets made by Samsung and Apple , also spend on average 30 minutes more per day on entertainment, than those who own other brands.

Owners of tablets spend about a quarter of their screen time on communication activities such as email and visiting social media sites, 15% creating content such as videos or blogs, and 9% finding  information. Gartner's survey was conducted in July 2013 and questioned 726 tablet owners in the U.S., U.K.. and Australia.

It also found that tablet users continue to use their devices primarily in the evening, between 7pm and 10pm. "This suggests the use of tablets as companions to television viewing and other living-room activities," said Gartner's principle research analyst, Meike Escherich. "Smartphones are used more for ad hoc research or quick sessions on social media websites while on the move or engaged in another screen activity.”

The research also showed that consumers had become less concerned in the last few years about brand names when choosing a tablet, and more interested in price and quality. That may make entering the tablet market more feasible for vendors, but it also means they "need to be more precise" in communicating what sets their tablet apart from others, says Gartner's research director Annette Jump.

That begs the question of how Microsoft will position its next generation Surface tablet, set to be unveiled at a launch event next week, on Sept. 23rd. Microsoft had to pay a $900 million inventory charge on the device in the first quarter after the Surface brought in an unspectacular $853 million in revenue between its launch in Oct. 2012 and June 30th, 2013, and the company was also forced to cut the retail price of its Surface RT by $150. Critics have praised the Surface's hybrid, hardware design, but some have taken issue with the ease and accessibility of its Windows 8 operating system.

Bearing in mind how much rival tablets are being used for evening-time gaming and movies, Microsoft may want to further highlight the Surface's value as a productivity tool.