Extensive solid information about multi-platform usage shifts–who accesses what technology, and where and how they do it–is available in TUP – Technology User Profile.

As consumers’ options for communication, entertainment, and organization grow, one thing seems to stay the same:  change. The more choices that choosy consumers have, the more choices they want, and if they can get it all in one package–even better. But that may not mean that smartphones are replacing PCs–when you can have all the options in one place, certain consumers prefer a few devices to choose between.

Below are a few examples of questions addressed in TUP related to the multi-platform reality. The full TUP service enables drilling down beyond the answers to these questions to identify which other technologies, services and behaviors are disruptive and to profile which market segments are and aren’t adopting. TUP is much more than a one-dimensional market view or opinion piece, since it provides dynamic data to answer the following key questions, as well as many others.

• Is the smartphone killing PC shopping?
• Which segments are keeping their files, calendars, or other information synchronized or backed up online?
• How are users communicating, given all their communication options?
• Primacy – what is the center of the user’s world? Their home PC, work PC, mobile phone? Is it one device or many?
• How many screens do people view? Which market segments view more screens than other segments?
• Are PC users primarily accessing the Internet at home, in the workplace, using friends or neighbor’s computers, or in public places such as libraries or cybercafés? Which users use other’s PCs and which have many to choose from? Are smartphones or netbooks changing this?
• What is the mix of communication products and services – landline, wireless, email, IM, etc. – by segment?
• Who is videoconferencing, and using which platform?
• Which segments are the most music-intensive? What is the overlap of music-centered products and services by segment?
• To what extent does game-playing drive online usage specifically and tech usage overall?
• How many and which segments are watching and renting movies on which platforms?
• Netbooks – how soon and with which market segments?
• Multitasking – who’s using lots of devices for lots of apps, few devices many apps, etc.?
• What is the impact on privacy in use of social networking?
• Who is using mobile payments?
• How have PC/Online & Mobile Phone activities changed? How might this affect apps?
• Do game players bring their gaming with them into the workplace? To what extent? Which market segment does this the most?
• Who are the true early adopters and laggards? How does this vary by actual usage of specific products and technologies?
• Which smartphone OS is leading, and with which market segments?
• How much have PC users integrated PCs into their personal lives?
• What do most people do with their mobile phone as compared to their PC? Which align with which platforms?
• What do users sync or store in the cloud? How does this differ between mobile phones and PCs? How do users share images – social networking sites or photo-specific sites? Which users are the most active?
• When do you grow up and give up on your Apple? When do get one again, if you do?
• Who’s busiest – desktop users or notebook users? How do their profiles differ?
• Netbooks – are they replacing notebooks? Stalling smartphones? Withering?
• Which segments are using which devices & carriers? For which activities?
• Age-related market adoption – which products and services are age-skewed? Which are skewed toward older rather than younger users?
• Who is buying the highest-end PCs? Are there brand differences? What else do users buy and what else do they use?
• What other activities are just outside the box for gamers? Online dating? Social Networking? Music? Movies? Entertainment in general?
• Most-mobile customers – where do they go and what do they do?
• iPhone users – who are they really? How do they compare with Android, Windows, and Blackberry users?
• Entertainment primacy – what is the center of the user’s home entertainment world? Is it one device or many?
• Which devices and services, and among which segments?
• What types and combinations of consumer electronics are homes using and planning to use?
• In reality, how deeply has the Apple iPod penetrated the market, and into which market segments?
• How many people use calendars on their PC, their mobile phone, or both? Which types of people are these?
• How are smartphones challenging mobile PCs? Which market segments are coalescing around which platforms?
• Is email being replaced by alternatives such as social networking, texting, or IM?
• How prominent is Home PC renting versus outright purchase?
• Have game-players been the first to adopt new products such as the Apple iPhone? Or, are they generally later adopters?
• Is it really one to a customer? How often are PCs shared? Which market segments use more than one PC?
• What are the overall future trends for the Internet?
• How has the division of work vs. personal use of technology products continued to blur?
• Which tech buyers focus more on retail than shopping online and vice versa?
• Which operating systems dominate within which segments?
• How much of the game-playing population is older versus younger?
• Special printer paper? Who uses it and what for? Is it only photos, or something else?
• How are users incorporating digital images, through the use of digital cameras, scanners, downloading images, as well as how are they producing output?
• What makes a smartphone a smartphone in the consumer’s eyes? How does usage compare to basic mobile phones? What are the user segments?
• Which market segments are dating online? What else do they frequently do online?
• What about the anti-social – those that aren’t in an online social network? Who are they?
• How does the life and lifespan of a PC vary by form factor? Does it vary by brand? By user segment?
• How prominent is printing images from mobile phones?
• Tech adoption cycles may not be as fast as the tech-focused think. How many and which users still use film cameras?
• Which segments are utilizing the cloud? For which activities?
• Navigation, online maps, location-based mobile phone services, and GPS – who’s getting directions?
• Are mobile computers used longer or shorter than desktops? If so, what’s the difference, and who uses them longest?
• What are consumers planning to buy? (in consumer electronics, connected home, computers, Internet, etc.)
• How much is assisted navigation part of life – and on which platform?
• Do users find their PCs to be more useful or less useful? Which users are the most practically-oriented?
• How tech-experienced are game-players?
• Which market segments are renting movies? Are they renting DVDs at a retailer, by mail, or at a kiosk? Do they watch them online?
• What happens to old PCs? Are they dumped? Recycled? Sold? Which segments dispose in which way?
• What are the major activities that people do with their printers?
• What is the tech-owning profile of active gamers? High-bandwidth or dial-up? Many consumer electronics entertainment products or focused on gaming? Many computers or few? How does this vary by segment?
• How rich is the user’s printing experience? Do they use only one printer or more than one? For multi-printer users, which ones do they use? Who are the most-active printer users?
• Do PC users behave differently as they gain more experience? Are Newbies or Vets mostly focusing on certain activities versus a broad mixture?
• How do the market segments of mobile phone platforms vary?
• How social-network active are the various tiers of gamers?
• How central is game-playing to the general population? How about within certain key market segments?

If solid answers any of these questions would help your work in creating the future, please contact MetaFacts.

MetaFacts, Inc. helps technology marketers find and measure their best and future customers.

Current subscribers of Technology User Profile may obtain this information directly from MetaFacts, as well as additional customized drilling down into the full dataset.

For more information on the results delivered in TUP and about how to subscribe, please contact MetaFacts.

The above questions are answered with the TUP 2010 edition, and even more questions are answered in the TUP 2011 edition.

The market for changing technologies is always in flux, and mobile PCs are not exception to the rule. It’s important to know your market, and know it well–is the coffee-shop CEO the leader of the mobile PC pack, or is it the high-school gamer?

Oftentimes the original die-hards for a product are no longer its current audience.  Strong research on changing demographics brings the new market to the forefront.

Below are a few examples of questions addressed in TUP related to the mobile PC market. The full TUP service enables drilling down beyond the answers to these questions to identify which other technologies, services and behaviors are disruptive and to profile which market segments are and aren’t adopting. TUP is much more than a one-dimensional market view or opinion piece, since it provide solid answers to the following questions as well as many others.

• What do most people do with their mobile phone as compared to their PC? Which align with which platforms?
• Netbooks – how soon and with which market segments?
• Are mobile computers used longer or shorter than desktops? If so, what’s the difference, and who uses them longest?
• Primacy – what is the center of the user’s world? Their home PC, work PC, mobile phone? Is it one device or many?
• How are smartphones challenging mobile PCs? Which market segments are coalescing around which platforms?
• How does PC and online usage vary cross segments such as workplace company size or industry?
• Most-mobile customers – where do they go and what do they do?
• How much have PC users integrated PCs into their personal lives?
• How has the division of work vs. personal use of technology products continued to blur?
• Who’s busiest – desktop users or notebook users? How do their profiles differ?
• Used/Refurbished PCs – who buys them?
• Who is buying the highest-end PCs? Are there brand differences? What else do users buy and what else do they use?
• What are the leading PC brands among Hewlett Packard printer users?  How does this differ for the other major printer vendors?
• How have PC/Online & Mobile Phone activities changed? How might this affect apps?
• What channels do people use for buying PCs? How about printers and printer supplies?
• Age-related market adoption – which products and services are age-skewed? Which are skewed toward older rather than younger users?
• Do PC users behave differently as they gain more experience? Are Newbies or Vets mostly focusing on certain activities versus a broad mixture?
• How does the life and lifespan of a PC vary by form factor? Does it vary by brand? By user segment?
• Which industry groups have varied levels of adoption?
• Do users find their PCs to be more useful or less useful? Which users are the most practically-oriented?
• Who is using mobile payments?
• What is the impact on privacy in use of social networking?
• How is HP’s PC penetration within the overall HP footprint?
• Birth order = brand order? Does top brand have similar draw cross-countries?
• Who is videoconferencing, and using which platform?
• Netbooks – are they replacing notebooks? Stalling smartphones? Withering?
• Which segments are keeping their files, calendars, or other information synchronized or backed up online?
• Do game players bring their gaming with them into the workplace? To what extent? Which market segment does this the most?
• Which operating systems dominate within which segments?
• What are the overall future trends for the Internet?
• iPhone users – who are they really? How do they compare with Android, Windows and Blackberry users?
• What’s typically bundled with a PC?
• Are PC users primarily accessing the Internet at home, in the workplace, using friends or neighbor’s computers, or in public places such as libraries or cybercafés? Which users use other’s PCs and which have many to choose from? Are smartphones or netbooks changing this?
• When do you grow up and give up on your Apple? When do get one again, if you do?
• Which PC brands dominate the PC market? How does this vary within brand segment?
• How many screens do people view? Which market segments view more screens than other segments?
• How much is assisted navigation part of life – and on which platform?
• To what extent have Dell and Lexmark penetrated the printer market? Which segments have they penetrated?
• What is Hewlett Packard’s share among Dell computer owners and Dell or Lexmark printer owners and has this changed?
• How prominent is printing images from mobile phones?
• How do consumer attitudes about purchasing technology differ between Apple, Hewlett Packard and Dell customers?
• Entertainment primacy – what is the center of the user’s home entertainment world? Is it one device or many? Which devices and services, and among which segments?
• What is the mix of communication products and services – landline, wireless, email, IM, etc. – by segment?
• Which tech buyers focus more on retail than shopping online and vice versa?
• How are users communicating, given all their communication options?
• What do users sync or store in the cloud? How does this differ between mobile phones and PCs? How do users share images – social networking sites or photo-specific sites? Which users are the most active?
• Multitasking – who’s using lots of devices for lots of apps, few devices many apps, etc.?
• Which segments are utilizing the cloud? For which activities?
• Is it really one to a customer? How often are PCs shared? Which market segments use more than one PC?
• Which segments are using which devices & carriers?  For which activities?
• What other activities are just outside the box for gamers? Online dating? Social Networking? Music? Movies? Entertainment in general?
• How does Hewlett Packard’s market share differ between the different types of printers (inkjet, multifunction, laser, etc.)?
• What other items (printers, software, monitors/displays, extended service plan, etc.) do people typically buy with their PC purchase?
• Which market segments are renting movies? Are they renting DVDs at a retailer, by mail, or at a kiosk? Do they watch them online?
• What’s the likely near-term outcome for an OS upgrade?
• Which segments are the most music-intensive? What is the overlap of music-centered products and services by segment?
• Which activities are different for dial-up than broadband? What’s driving bandwidth needs?
• Are Apple’s best customers really unique?
• What happens to old PCs? Are they dumped? Recycled? Sold? Which segments dispose in which way?
• Which market segments are dating online? What else do they frequently do online?
• How many and which segments are watching and renting movies on which platforms?
• How social-network active are the various tiers of gamers?
• Special printer paper? Who uses it and what for? Is it only photos, or something else?
• Who are the true early adopters and laggards? How does this vary by actual usage of specific products and technologies?
• What makes a smartphone a smartphone in the consumer’s eyes? How does usage compare to basic mobile phones? What are the user segments?
• Is the smartphone killing PC shopping?
• Which social networking sites are used most frequently by which segments?
• What are consumers planning to buy? (in consumer electronics, connected home, computers, Internet, etc.)
• To what extent does game-playing drive online usage specifically and tech usage overall?
• Which segments have recently paid for a downloaded mobile phone app?
• Tech adoption cycles may not be as fast as the tech-focused think. How many and which users still use film cameras?
• How many people use calendars on their PC, their mobile phone, or both? Which types of people are these?
• Navigation, online maps, location-based mobile phone services, and GPS – who’s getting directions?
• How do ad volumes affect usage?
• Which market segments are blogging? How do they compare to social networkers?
• How tech-sophisticated are game-players, within key gaming segments?
• How do online shopping activities differ between Hewlett Packard, Apple and Dell customers?
• Is social networking only for certain age groups?
• How many seniors are online? How is their behavior different than younger online users?
• What is the tech-owning profile of active gamers? High-bandwidth or dial-up? Many consumer electronics entertainment products or focused on gaming? Many computers or few? How does this vary by segment?

If solid answers any of these questions would help your work in creating the future, please contact MetaFacts.

MetaFacts, Inc. helps technology marketers find and measure their best and future customers.

Current subscribers of  Technology User Profile may obtain this information directly from MetaFacts, as well as additional customized drilling down into the full dataset.

For more information on the results delivered in TUP and about how to subscribe, please contact MetaFacts.

The above questions are answered with the TUP 2010 edition, and even more questions are answered in the TUP 2011 edition.

Both smartphone and basic feature phones today are much more than a phone.  At least, they can be.  With all the capabilities of the modern mobile device, it can be difficult to discern what exactly which consumers are after which capabilities, and what they ultimately use.  Do they use their phone for the texting, for the web, or as a PDA?  As a camera or a gaming tool?  Or do they use it mostly as a traditional telephone?  These questions beg for extensive answers that only careful, detailed market research can provide.

Below are a few examples of questions addressed in TUP related to mobile phones. The full TUP service enables drilling down beyond the answers to these questions to identify which other technologies, services and behaviors are disruptive and to profile which market segments are and aren’t adopting. TUP is much more than a one-dimensional market view or opinion piece, since it provides answers to these and many other key questions.

• iPhone users – who are they really? How do they compare with Android, Windows and Blackberry users?
• How do the market segments of mobile phone platforms vary?
• How are smartphones challenging mobile PCs? Which market segments are coalescing around which platforms?
• What makes a smartphone a smartphone in the consumer’s eyes? How does usage compare to basic mobile phones? What are the user segments?
• Which segments have recently paid for a downloaded mobile phone app?
• Which smartphone OS is leading, and with which market segments?
• Who is using mobile payments?
• Which segments are the most music-intensive? What is the overlap of music-centered products and services by segment?
• How have PC/Online & Mobile Phone activities changed? How might this affect apps?
• What is the mix of communication products and services – landline, wireless, email, IM, etc. – by segment?
• How many and which segments are watching and renting movies on which platforms?
• What is the impact on privacy in use of social networking?
• Most-mobile customers – where do they go and what do they do?
• Who is videoconferencing, and using which platform?
• What do most people do with their mobile phone as compared to their PC? Which align with which platforms?
• Is email dying because of ads? Being replaced by alternatives such as social networking, texting, or IM?
• Are Apple’s best customers really unique?
• Who are the true early adopters and laggards? How does this vary by actual usage of specific products and technologies?
• Is the smartphone killing PC shopping?
• Which segments are using which devices & carriers? For which activities?
• What’s the expected market demand for a Google Droid – Verizon – Motorola trio?
• How much have PC users integrated PCs into their personal lives?
• Multitasking – who’s using lots of devices for lots of apps, few devices many apps, etc.?
• Have game-players been the first to adopt new products such as the Apple iPhone? Or, are they generally later adopters?
• What is surprisingly strong “killer app” on both basic mobile phones and smartphones?
• How are users communicating, given all their communication options?
• How do Verizon’s subscribers compare to AT&T’s?
• How prominent is Home PC renting versus outright purchase?
• How prominent is printing images from mobile phones?
• Netbooks – are they replacing notebooks? Stalling smartphones? Withering?
• Are mobile computers used longer or shorter than desktops? If so, what’s the difference, and who uses them longest?
• What about the anti-social – those that aren’t in an online social network? Who are they?
• Primacy – what is the center of the user’s world? Their home PC, work PC, mobile phone? Is it one device or many?
• Age-related market adoption – which products and services are age-skewed? Which are skewed toward older rather than younger users?
• To what extent does game-playing drive online usage specifically and tech usage overall?
• How many screens do people view? Which market segments view more screens than other segments?
• How strong is name-brand dominance?
• How social-network active are the various tiers of gamers?
• Which social networking sites are used most frequently by which segments?
• Do PC users behave differently as they gain more experience? Are Newbies or Vets mostly focusing on certain activities versus a broad mixture?
• What do users sync or “store” in the cloud? How does this differ between mobile phones and PCs? How do users share images – social networking sites or photo-specific sites? Which users are the most active?
• Which market segments are dating online? What else do they frequently do online?
• Which market segments are renting movies? Are they renting DVDs at a retailer, by mail, or at a kiosk? Do they watch them online?
• What about the unemployed? Are they more or are they less tech-focused?
• How many seniors are online? How is their behavior different than younger online users?
• How tech-sophisticated are game-players, within key gaming segments?
• Entertainment primacy – what is the center of the user’s home entertainment world? Is it one device or many? Which devices and services, and among which segments?
• Which industry groups have varied levels of adoption?
• In reality, how deeply has the Apple iPod penetrated the market, and into which market segments?
• Which segments are keeping their files, calendars, or other information synchronized or backed up online?
• Which tech buyers focus more on retail than shopping online and vice versa?
• Is social networking only for certain age groups?
• How has the division of work vs. personal use of technology products continued to blur?
• How much of the game-playing population is older versus younger?
• Special printer paper? Who uses it and what for? Is it only photos, or something else?
• Online shoppers – are they everyone, or unique?
• How many people use calendars on their PC, their mobile phone, or both? Which types of people are these?
• How much is assisted navigation part of life – and on which platform?
• What is the tech-owning profile of active gamers? High-bandwidth or dial-up? Many consumer electronics entertainment products or focused on gaming? Many computers or few? How does this vary by segment?
  What are consumers planning to buy? (in consumer electronics, connected home, computers, Internet, etc.)
• Do game players bring their gaming with them into the workplace? To what extent? Which market segment does this the most?
• Tech adoption cycles may not be as fast as the tech-focused think. How many and which users still use film cameras?
• Navigation, online maps, location-based mobile phone services, and GPS – who’s getting directions?
• What are the overall future trends for the Internet?
• How are users incorporating digital images, through the use of digital cameras, scanners, downloading images, as well as how are they producing output?
• Are PC users primarily accessing the Internet at home, in the workplace, using friends or neighbor’s computers, or in public places such as libraries or cybercafés? Which users use other’s PCs and which have many to choose from? Are smartphones or netbooks changing this?
• Netbooks – how soon and with which market segments?
• What other activities are just outside the box for gamers? Online dating? Social Networking? Music? Movies? Entertainment in general?
• Who’s busiest – desktop users or notebook users? How do their profiles differ?
• Which market segments are blogging? How do they compare to social networkers?

If solid answers any of these questions would help your work in creating the future, please contact MetaFacts.

MetaFacts, Inc. helps technology marketers find and measure their best and future customers.

Current subscribers of Technology User Profile may obtain this information directly from MetaFacts, as well as additional customized drilling down into the full dataset.

For more information on the results delivered in TUP and about how to subscribe, please contact MetaFacts.

The above questions are answered with the TUP 2010 edition, and even more questions are answered in the TUP 2011 edition.

A TUPdate from MetaFacts by Dan Ness, Principal Analyst

You can’t go out for coffee these days without sharing space with legions of dedicated smartphone users doing everything from texting their friends to checking the latest NFL or soccer scores. With smartphone functionality and the number of available apps increasing at hyper speed, could this trend foreshadow the decline of the mobile computer and relegate all those laptops, netbooks and tablets to the land of the Atari? Will Apple iPhones, RIM Blackberries, Winphones or the Android-powered grab the fingers of the most-mobile among us?  Our new MetaFacts Technology User Profile, 2009 Global Insights Edition polled over 22,000+ online PC adults in 10 developed countries and found some surprising answers.

Why is this important?

Makers of mobile computers, smartphone manufacturers, wireless carriers and application developers should all be watching these trends closely both from an R&D standpoint and a marketing perspective. OEMs of desktop computers should also take heed if more and more users opt for portables even if they don’t use them in more than one location.

First let’s look at who’s using mobile PCs these days and where they are using them. Not surprisingly, this is a younger group overall. The average age of online adult mobile PC users is nearly seven years younger than the average desktop user. Nearly a third of the mobile computer users are in the college age to early career category of 18-34 year olds.

Just where are mobile PCs being used? The age of the user is also a factor here. The younger users are, the more likely they were to report using their mobile computers in four or more locations, a finding that is likely reflective of the more mobile lifestyle of this segment.

But desktop and mobile PC manufacturers take notice: Nearly half of mobile PCs are used in only one location. This begs the question of why these homebody mobiles are stuck in their desk job. If this trend continues, will the pendulum swing away from netbooks and ever-lighter notebook PCs back to full-featured desktop replacements?

And the mobile PCs seem to be working harder than desktops. The portables are logging more hours than their desktop cousins with nearly 25% being used for 40 or more hours per week versus 18% of desktops being used that much.

So what are these mobile computer users doing with their portables? While their activities are generally the same as those performed on their desktops, the survey showed that mobile PCs which are used in multiple locations appeared to be much more integrated into the user’s life. These younger multiple-location PC users reported performing nearly double the number of activities on their mobile PCs than the group reporting that their mobile PCs remained tethered to one location.

The more years people use computers, the more activities they add to their list of things to do with their machines. PC Veterans, people who have used computers over a quarter of their lives, use their mobile PCs for more activities than PC Newbies, regardless of their age. Not surprisingly, users in the 18-24 age category use their mobile PCs more often for entertainment and communication than older mobile computer users.

Now let’s turn to the role that cell phones play in the mobile PC world. With the ever-increasing functionality of phones, is the choice of mobile connectivity an either/or when it comes using mobile computers and smartphones? Our survey showed quite the opposite. Even the savviest of smartphone users are not likely to give up their mobile computers. Interestingly, the adults who reported using the most functionality on their phones also reported using their mobile PCs in more locations, nearly twice the number of those who used their mobile phones only as basic phones. Bottom line: When it comes to the question of whether to take the smartphone or the mobile PC to the cybercafé, the current answer is often “both.”

If today’s mobile PCs could talk, they might paraphrase Mark Twain’s famous quote, “The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.”

Further Resources

MetaFacts Technology User Profile – 2009 Global Insights Edition – a syndicated survey of 30,889 representative respondents in 16 countries

MetaFacts Technology User Profile – 2009 Global Insights Edition – Developed Economies – a syndicated survey of 22,072 representative respondents in 10 countries

MetaFacts Mobile PC Brand Profile Report – analysis of the mobile market based on results in MetaFacts Technology User Profile 2008 Annual Edition – a syndicated survey of over 10,000 representative respondents in the U.S.

About this TUPdate

MetaFacts releases ongoing research on the market shifts and profiles for Windows Vista, Mobile PCs, Workplace PCs, Home PCs, Moms and Dads, Web Creators, Broadband, and many other technology industry topics. These TUPdates are short analytical articles in a series of specific topics utilizing the Technology User Profile Annual Edition study, which reveals the changing patterns of technology adoption around the world. Interested technology professionals can sign up at www.metafacts.com for complimentary TUPdates – periodic snapshots of technology markets.

About MetaFacts

MetaFacts, Inc. is a national market research firm focusing exclusively on the technology industries. MetaFacts’ Technology User Profile survey is the longest-running, large-scale comprehensive study of its kind, conducted continuously since 1983, the year before Apple released the Apple Macintosh. The detailed results are widely recognized as a primary market sizing and segmentation resource for leading companies providing consumer-oriented technology products and services, such as PCs, printers, software applications, peripherals, consumer electronics, mobile computing, and related services and products. For more information about the syndicated research service, publications and datasets, contact MetaFacts at 1-760-635-4300.

Actively mobile computing is a sport for the young. The most active users, who regularly use their mobile PCs in four or more locations, are ages 18-34 and make up two-thirds (65%) of these active users. By stark contrast, users who use their mobile PCs in only one location have a smaller share in this demographic segment: 40% are ages 18-34.

Mobile PCs are used in the Most Locations by the Young - Mobile PC Brand Profile Brand

While it may seem natural to extend the use of mobile computers with docking stations, this product class has not emerged beyond a niche. The product class has been perennially plagued by the tension between maintaining a standard from product generation to generation while still trying to offer the most advanced mobile PC offerings. Meanwhile, demand for docking has diminished with more ubiquitous and ever-faster transport technology such as USB 2.0, and increased integration of components and peripherals into mobile PCs. Dell and Compaq enjoy the greatest usage of various types of docking station solutions with just under one-quarter (24%) of PCs each. 

While these two brands lead the market, they each command only a slim margin over the average one-in-five (21%) for mobile PCs.

Apple has essentially taken a different approach than Windows mobile PC makers with respect to hardware docking solutions. Although there are third-party products to enhance the mobile experience such as notebook stands and port replicators, Apple continues to expand the mobile PC user’s desktop through sharing of documents and media using cloud-like services like MobileMe, simplified wireless connections, and larger integrated displays.

Actual Usage of Peripherals Varies by Mobile PC Brand – Mobile PC Brand Profile Report

The busiest mobile PC users are in different occupations when looked at across a two-by-two quadrant.

The occupational groups that are core are in the quadrant with the largest number of the busiest mobile PC users and the highest percentage within that occupation that use their Mobile PCs 40 or more hours per week.

• These seven core occupational groups make up 51% of all mobile users: Management, Sales, IT Technologist, Consultant/Analyst, Scientist/Engineer, Student, and Creative/Writer/Performer.

Three niche occupational groups stand out because a high percentage of these professionals use their mobiles 40 or more hours per week, although these groups do not have as many members as the core groups.

The pedestrian quadrant has three occupational groups that have many busy mobiles, however these make up a small percentage within these occupational groups, so would be relatively harder to find.

Occupations of the Busy Mobiles – Busy Mobiles Profile Report

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