In a survey run in November 2013, Microsoft asked consumers in 10 Asia Pacific countries which IT gadgets they wanted to buy or receive as gifts in 2014. Of more than 1,300 respondents, 35% named a tablet they could use for both work and play. A further 25% were interested in notebooks and Ultrabook devices.
What the survey set out to measure
Microsoft designed the online poll to look at technology consumption habits and digital lifestyles across the region. Its main question was how people’s device wishes were changing as the boundary between professional and personal life blurred.
The company read the results as a demand for a full mobile computing device with a rich user experience, rather than a handset or a tablet limited to apps and social networking.
Headline findings
- 35% wanted a tablet for both work and play.
- 25% were keen on a notebook or Ultrabook.
- More than 53% already owned at least a desktop PC, a notebook and a smartphone.
- 67% wished for a more unified experience across their devices.
Owning several devices was therefore common. The same respondents wanted those devices to work together more consistently.
Tablet growth forecast
Microsoft tied the findings to a forecast from analyst firm Canalys. Canalys predicted that tablets would make up close to 50% of the global PC market in 2014, counting desktops, notebooks and tablets together. It also expected close to 285 million units to be shipped in Asia Pacific, and Microsoft cited this as a sign that tablet ownership would grow significantly in the region.
Jason Lim, then general manager of the Windows Business Group at Microsoft Asia Pacific, said consumers expected more from their devices. He argued that a touch device could no longer be judged only on apps and social networking. In his view, Windows devices were meant to spare buyers a choice between a tablet’s fun and convenience and a PC’s power and productivity.
Always-on habits and app spending
The survey also described how connected respondents were. 56% said a social media, email or messaging app was the first thing they opened on waking. Social media, messaging and music apps were the three most used app genres on the daily commute. 58% said they logged on to social media accounts about once every three hours.
Willingness to pay was different. Respondents said they were most likely to pay for these kinds of apps:
- games (32%)
- books and magazines (24%)
- utilities (24%)
Far fewer would pay for messaging apps (13%) or social media apps (10%).
Lim read this as evidence that people were prepared to pay for quality content that entertained them or made life more convenient. He noted that Windows and Windows Phone came with the People Hub, Mail and Skype pre-installed, and that the Windows and Windows Phone Stores offered hundreds of thousands of apps at the time.
Reading the numbers
The survey was commissioned by a platform vendor with tablets and notebooks to sell. It was also an online poll of a little over 1,300 people spread across 10 countries, so the country-level samples were small. The results show what a self-selected group of connected consumers said they wanted at the start of 2014. They are not measured purchases.
The finding that most respondents already owned a desktop, a notebook and a smartphone suggested the tablet was being considered as an addition. The 67% who wanted a more unified experience pointed to cross-device consistency as a selling point, which was the argument Microsoft made for Windows.
For businesses in Asia-Pacific, the wish for a single device covering work and leisure fed into the debate over employees using personal devices at work. The survey itself did not examine that question.