Busiest PC Users Are Single Young Males

The Busiest PC Users Are Busy Juggling Devices, Not Focusing

A MetaFacts TUPdate by Dan Ness, Principal Analyst

The busiest PC users are not only busy in hours; they spend a lot of time moving from one PC to another and also between other devices.

This is important because for years, various pundits have foreseen the widespread abandonment of PCs for smartphones, tablets, or other emerging devices. In fact, just the opposite is happening.

Averaging 2.9 PCs, more of the busiest PC users use Home PCs, Work PCs, and Shared/Public PCs than less-active users. Their Desktop usage rate shows this is the main type of PCs used, similar to less-busy users. Their use of Notebook PCs is higher than among other users, although still behind Desktop use.

Almost nine out of ten (86%) of the busiest PC users use two or more PCs, and over half (54%) use three or more PCs.

For this analysis, MetaFacts identifies the busiest PC users as those who spend 60 or more hours per week across all the PCs they use within a 90 day period. This hyperactive group numbers 33.5 million adults, for almost one in five (19%) of online adults.

Why is this important?

Popular media and many recent product launches might leave the impression that PCs have been replaced by smartphones, tablets, and netbooks. However, media attention changes faster than actual usage.

It’s unlikely the busiest PC users will give up their PCs for Smartphones anytime soon. Even the busiest PC users who have Smartphones use their PCs for more activities than the busiest users with basic mobile phones.

While communication activities might seem like the most natural challenger in a one-device scenario, in fact communication PC activities are the second-highest category of activities for the busiest PC users.

The busiest PC users are also the most active with their mobile phones – both Smartphones and Basic Mobile Phones. A higher share of the busiest PC users use their phones for text messaging, email, calendars, playing games, and web browsing than other PC users.

That the busiest PC users are accumulators of multiple devices is probably helped by their physical demographic – young and male. Also, marital status is correlated, although we wouldn’t go so far as to say there is a causal link in either direction. Over four in ten (41%) of the busiest PC users are single, versus 30% of the least-busy PC users.

It’s also telling by what the busiest PC users don’t do – watch much TV. Three in four (75%) of the busiest PC users say they use their PC more than watching TV versus 41% of the least busy. Fun is a key motivation, where 72% of the busiest say they keep finding new ways to use the Internet for fun vs. 42% of the least-busy.

The above analysis is based on people who use PCs to go online, which is the majority. Looking a little more deeply into the possibility of a sizable market being missed, our 1st phase offline survey helped us determine that 14.9% of adults use a mobile phone and do not actively use a PC to go online. While this mobile-phone-only segment has grown, most growth has come from the fully-offline segment. The 5.5% of adults who do not use a mobile phone or online PC at all are slowly shrinking, particularly as handset prices drop and carriers offer prepaid plans.

For the next five years, MetaFacts expects the busiest technology accumulators to continue to use multiple PCs in addition to mobile phones and other devices, and not to fully quit PC use. Since nearly half (46%) of the busiest users have used a PC for 13 or more years, versus the one-third (34%) of the least-busy who are similarly experienced, they are likely to master cloud-based storage and synchronization services to keep their content accessible as they traverse between their various platforms. In this multi-screen world, developers and services will need to support a wide variety of platforms, many of which may not be the newest technology or operating systems.

Looking ahead, the busiest users will likely be noticed by how aptly they can juggle their various and many devices.

Source

The findings in this TUPdate are drawn from the MetaFacts Technology User Profile Survey. In each wave of Technology User Profile, we survey a representative sample of respondents about their use of mobile phones, computers, technology attitudes, and many other consumer electronics products and services, behavioral and socioeconomic factors. Current TUP subscribers can access and drill down more deeply into this phenomenon using TUP Interactive Access or with their datasets.

We began the above analysis by first looking at the answers from nearly 10,000 respondents in the Technology User Profile service and then drilled down further into their profiles to get a more complete picture.

To see other research coverage of Internet products and activities – from smartphones to feature phones, desktops to notebooks, social networking, demographics, and attitudes – see the many other questions TUP answers on www.technologyuser.com. Tech market research professionals can license direct access to TUP.

About TUPdates

MetaFacts releases ongoing syndicated original research on the market shifts, trends and consumer profiles for Smartphones, Netbooks, Mobile PCs, Workplace PCs, Home PCs, Web Creators, Broadband, and many other technology products and services. 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 helps technology marketers find and measure their best and future customers. MetaFacts’ Technology User Profile (TUP) 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 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. TUP analyzes key trends and the data-rich source can be dived into more deeply for custom analysis. For more information about the syndicated research service, analysis tools, publications and datasets, contact MetaFacts at 1-760-635-4300.

Rent to Own-Storefront look familiar?

A MetaFacts TUPdate by Dan Ness, Principal Analyst

Consumers continue to shape the future of technology with their pocketbooks, whether by outright purchase or payment plans. PC renting is not currently widespread among most U.S. consumers, with only 1% of American online adults using a rented home PC. If considered much at all by the digerati, it is considered passé or fringe.

However, looking ahead, consumer usage patterns are trending towards the pay-as-you-go or the ad-supported model, and with a new definition of PCs and devices as the preferred platform(s): whether called Smartphone, Laptop, Tablet, Netbook, Mobile, or otherwise.

Today’s PC rental business might be called opportunistic, socially beneficial, or predatory, depending on your perspective. Americans renting PCs skew towards younger adults – particularly those PC Newbies who have used a PC less than a quarter of their life – as well as skewing towards adults not employed full-time. Also, evidently, PC renting is biased towards people of color: with rental rates higher among adults who identify with a racial/ethnic group other than White/Non-Hispanic.

Interestingly, these same segments are stronger than average in their use of Smartphones or Basic Mobile Phones as their primary or only browsing, email, and Twitter platforms, as well as the broadening use of prepaid cellular plans. This signals that these consumer segments are likely the earliest adopters of new financial models – not the mythical early adopters stereotypically portrayed as affluent, highly-educated youngsters.

Recently, attention on the rental PC business has increased due to the controversial practices of some rental retailers. The major furniture rental chain Aaron’s was named in a federal lawsuit. Some rental companies, allegedly including some Aaron’s outlets or franchisees, have protected their equipment through the use of remotely activated webcams or tracking software, to the consternation of unwitting renters. Privacy and security issues are looming as important factors following large breaches spanning credit cards, health records, Sony PlayStations, passwords and WikiLeaks documents, only to name a few.

The pay-as-you-go approach has done well for the cable TV and wireless phone businesses, if not for PC manufacturers or PDA makers. Wireless carrier subsidies are increasingly driving the decisions of consumer technology manufacturers, a factor arguably contributing to Palm being driven from their business model prior to being acquired by Hewlett Packard.

In addition to this pay-now/pay-later balance, consumers also position platforms along the BOB-Integrated spectrum. The BOB – Best Of Breed – end of the spectrum features products which do one or few functions very well. One example is a standalone GPS device which gives directions extremely well. The other end of the spectrum: Integrated or Swiss Army Knife – features broadly functional devices which do many things adequately. An example is a Smartphone navigation app, which may not have a full function set or may be compromised due to simultaneous use for incoming messages and music or as a timepiece. Most interestingly, consumers find ways to adapt their behavior in ways that are out of synch with the intentions of the product designers, in some cases using on a fraction of a product’s capability while at other times finding new uses for products beyond their expected design.

Looking ahead, MetaFacts expects continued turmoil and changes as each segment of consumers decide their own favorite device or platform striking a balance of BOB vs. integrated, with choices being affected in part by heightened security and privacy concerns and in part by the underlying payment model.

Source

The results in this TUPdate are drawn from the MetaFacts Technology User Profile Survey. In our most recent wave of Technology User Profile, we surveyed American adults about their use of mobile phones, technology attitudes, and many other behavioral and socioeconomic factors. Current TUP subscribers can access and drill down more deeply into this phenomenon using TUP Interactive Access or with their datasets.

We started this analysis by first looking at the answers from 8,175 U.S. respondents in the Technology User Profile service and then drilled down further into their profiles to get a more complete picture.

The MetaFacts Technology User Profile Overview Edition report is available immediately on www.metafactsstore.com, which covers the broader range of key trends. View findings in 25 pages of executive summary analysis, 200+ pages of charts and graphs, all supported by 95+ pages of detailed tables. The complete, 300+ page report is delivered to you electronically.

These editions are for the U.S. based on the 2010 wave of Technology User Profile gathered among a scrupulously selected set of representative respondents, surveyed both online and offline.

To see other research coverage of Internet products and activities  – from smartphones to feature phones, desktops to notebooks, social networking, demographics, and attitudes – see the many other questions TUP answers on www.technologyuser.com. Tech market research professionals who want a solid resource they can use immediately after industry events such as mergers, or even use prior to anticipated events, can license direct access to TUP.

About TUPdates

MetaFacts releases ongoing research on the market shifts and profiles for Smartphones, Netbooks, Mobile PCs, Workplace PCs, Home PCs, Web Creators, Broadband, and many other technology industry trends and facts. 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 helps technology marketers find and measure their best and future customers. MetaFacts’ Technology User Profile (TUP) 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 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. TUP analyzes key trends and the data-rich source can be dived into more deeply for custom analysis. For more information about the syndicated research service, analysis tools, publications and datasets, contact MetaFacts at 1-760-635-4300.

Market demand for online gambling continues strongly among some players, despite efforts by the U.S. Federal Government to limit it, including the recent closures of several key online poker sites. While states from New York and New Jersey to California sort out their legislation to block, tax or support it, a core segment of consumers still find ways to satisfy their desires.

Interestingly, each state varies in its online betting activity level. Nationwide, 4.5% of online adults are betting online, either playing poker or other contests.

New Jersey residents hold the distinction as the state with the most-active online bettors, with 8% (one in 13) of online adults betting online.

Three states are effectively tied for second place at 6% of adults: Illinois, New York, and California.

Other states also above the national rate are Georgia, North Carolina, Florida, and Virginia. Each has a 5% penetration rate.

MetaFacts-Online Bettors by Top States

Why does this matter?

If and when laws liberalize, knowing which consumers will or won’t be the earliest customers can make a big difference, for policymakers, marketers, and brick and mortar casinos alike.

Source

The results in this TUPdate are drawn from the MetaFacts Technology User Profile Survey. In our most recent wave of Technology User Profile, we surveyed American adults about their online betting and online card-playing to build a profile of these diehard players. We also compared this to our prior international wave of Technology User Profile to get a global perspective.

To get closer to a true answer from respondents who may not consider it socially acceptable to admit to online betting in a survey, we gathered online betting and card-playing activity well within the survey, amidst a battery of other online activities and attitudes. Through our years of survey experience and testing, we’ve found that this method elicits truer answers for certain behaviors, especially coupled with other rigorous methodological steps.

We started this analysis by first looking at the answers from 8,175 U.S. respondents in the Technology User Profile service and then drilled down further into their profiles to get a full picture. We also compared usage from our prior waves, including results from our identical surveys across nine other countries.

The full results can be obtained through the MetaFacts TUP Online Betting Demand Data Slice. This data-rich deliverable includes 75 pages of PowerPoint slides and 50 supporting cross-tabulations.

The related MetaFacts Technology User Profile Overview Edition report is available immediately on www.metafactsstore.com, which covers the broader range of key trends. View findings in 25 pages of executive summary analysis, 200+ pages of charts and graphs, all supported by 95+ pages of detailed tables. The complete, 300+ page report is delivered to you electronically.

These editions are for the U.S. based on the 2010 wave of Technology User Profile gathered among a scrupulously selected set of representative respondents, surveyed both online and offline.

To see other research coverage of Internet products and activities – from smartphones to feature phones, desktops to notebooks, social networking, demographics, and attitudes – see the many other questions TUP answers on www.technologyuser.com. Tech market research professionals who want a solid resource they can use immediately after industry events such as mergers, or even use prior to anticipated events, can license direct access to TUP.

About TUPdates

MetaFacts releases ongoing research on the market shifts and profiles for Smartphones, Netbooks, Mobile PCs, Workplace PCs, Home PCs, Web Creators, Broadband, and many other technology industry trends and facts. 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 helps technology marketers find and measure their best and future customers. MetaFacts’ Technology User Profile (TUP) 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 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. TUP analyzes key trends and the data-rich source can be dived into more deeply for custom analysis. For more information about the syndicated research service, analysis tools, publications and datasets, contact MetaFacts at 1-760-635-4300.

A MetaFacts TUPdate by Dan Ness, Principal Analyst

Ink refill usage is substantial, especially among some leading-edge market segments.

There’s an old marketing adage about giving away the razor to make it up selling razor blades. In the PC printer business, printer ink pays a lot of the bills, yet is increasingly at risk.

In our most recent wave of Technology User Profile, American adults told us they continue to prefer original ink versus compatible or refilled cartridges. However, the ink loyalty rate varies by PC printer brand and market segment. One bellwether segment is decidedly using refills or sharing photos online.

We started this analysis by first looking at the answers from 8,175 U.S. respondents in the Technology User Profile service and then drilled down further into their profiles including factors such as their printer brand, type of ink used, years of PC experience, and age. We also compared usage from our prior waves, including results from our identical surveys across nine other countries.

In U.S. homes, original is strongest. Kodak & Lexmark have the highest ink loyalty, at 81% and 79%, respectively. Eight in ten adults who use these PC printer brands as their primary printer used an original ink cartridge by the same manufacturer as the printer.

Ink Type by Printer Brand

HP’s ink loyalty rate is not the strongest, with HP ranked third. HP is maintaining its strength: its ink loyalty rate at 73% is slightly up from 70% the prior year.

These high ink loyalty rates may be satisfactory enough for some printer manufacturers, yet as consumers change their printing behaviors, and even non-printing behaviors, these rates are likely to change as well.

Use of refilled ink is highest for Dell and Brother, both with 27% of adult printer users. Due to HP’s dominant market share, the number of users of refills for HP printers is almost equal to users of refills for all other brands combined.

The refilled market is broad and diverse, so unlikely to change overnight. It it served by a diverse group – spanning drug stores such as Walgreens, franchises like Cartridge World, to a small army of entrepreneurs and do-it-yourselfers with pliers and squeeze bottles.

Direct competition is strong, although compatible inks trail refills as the least-preferred option across most brands. Use of competitive compatible inks is highest for Epson and Brother, at 19% and 18%, respectively.

Compared with many other developed countries, the U.S. has some of the most ink-loyal consumers. Our prior wave of Technology User Profile across key countries revealed that ink loyalty rates are strongest in Japan and the US and weakest in Germany and the UK, and that use of refills is highest in South Korea and Germany.

Home Photo Printing - Ink & Options

Looking ahead, the ink business continues to face challenges both from within the printer and ink industry as well as from substitutes.

Printer manufacturers hoping to reclaim refill customers face an uphill battle beyond pricing, since a higher rate of refill users share photos online and a lower rate print photos. Adults who use refills have higher rates of using online photo-sharing services, sharing images across a social network, sharing on their own websites or blogs, and sharing folders online through a cloud storage service. They are an attractive segment, though, because when they print, they print at higher volumes.

To the extent that younger users are bellwether of future buyers, it’s important to note that younger adults use refills at a higher rate than older adults.

Looking further ahead, increased online collaboration is expected to continue the erosion of home-printing photos. Of the 70.9 million adults with a home printer which they don’t use to print photos, most of their sharing is done online. The greatest upside is likely to come from the broad general increase in images from user’s own smartphones, feature phones and cameras, as well as the many photos they receive online from friends and others.

Source

The results in this TUPdate are drawn from the MetaFacts Technology User Profile Survey. Results specific to this topic can be obtained through a customized report and analysis. The MetaFacts Technology User Profile Overview Edition report is available immediately on www.metafactsstore.com, which covers the broader range of key trends. View findings in 25 pages of executive summary analysis, 200+ pages of charts and graphs, all supported by 95+ pages of detailed tables. The complete, 300+ page report is delivered to you electronically. This edition is for the U.S. based on the 2010 wave of Technology User Profile gathered among a scrupulously selected set of representative respondents, surveyed both online and offline.

To see other research coverage of Internet products and activities – from smartphones to feature phones, desktops to notebooks, social networking, demographics, and attitudes – see the many other questions TUP answers on www.technologyuser.com. Tech market research professionals who want a solid resource they can use immediately after industry events such as mergers, or even use prior to anticipated events, can license direct access to TUP.

About TUPdates

MetaFacts releases ongoing research on the market shifts and profiles for Smartphones, Netbooks, Mobile PCs, Workplace PCs, Home PCs, Web Creators, Broadband, and many other technology industry trends and facts. 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 market research firm focusing exclusively on the technology industries. MetaFacts’ Technology User Profile (TUP) 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 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. TUP analyzes key trends and the data-rich source can be dived into more deeply for custom analysis. For more information about the syndicated research service, analysis tools, publications and datasets, contact MetaFacts at 1-760-635-4300.

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.

Despite the on-the-go lifestyle of the technology consumer, there’s still a sense that “home is where the heart is.”  It seems that home and work desktop PCs, while no longer the only option, still have a place in the tech-race. As mobile devices develop more PC-like qualities, and as desktops grow out of clunkerhood, each spurs the other on to top the market.

Below are a few examples of questions addressed in TUP related to the PC market. The full TUP service enables drilling down beyond the answers to these questions to identify which other technologies and services 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, providing access to answers to the following questions as well as many others.

• Primacy – what is the center of the user’s world? Their home PC, work PC, mobile phone? Is it one device or many?
• How does PC and online usage vary cross segments such as workplace company size or industry?
• How much have PC users integrated PCs into their personal lives?
• Which PC brands dominate the PC market? How does this vary within brand segment?
• Age-related market adoption – which products and services are age-skewed? Which are skewed toward older rather than younger users?
• When do you grow up and give up on your Apple? When do get one again, if you do?
• How have PC/Online & Mobile Phone activities changed? How might this affect apps?
• Do users find their PCs to be more useful or less useful? Which users are the most practically-oriented?
• How prominent is Home PC renting versus outright purchase?
• Do PC users behave differently as they gain more experience? Are Newbies or Vets mostly focusing on certain activities versus a broad mixture?
• Used/Refurbished PCs – who buys them?
• Are mobile computers used longer or shorter than desktops? If so, what’s the difference, and who uses them longest?
• What channels do people use for buying PCs? How about printers and printer supplies?
• Who’s busiest – desktop users or notebook users? How do their profiles differ?
• Most-mobile customers – where do they go and what do they do?
• Who is buying the highest-end PCs? Are there brand differences? What else do users buy and what else do they use?
• How is HP’s PC penetration within the overall HP market footprint?
• How are smartphones challenging mobile PCs? Which market segments are coalescing around which platforms?
• What are the leading PC brands among Hewlett Packard printer users?  How does this differ for the other major printer vendors?
• How does the life and lifespan of a PC vary by form factor? Does it vary by brand? By user segment?
• How does Hewlett Packard’s market share differ between the different types of printers (inkjet, multifunction, laser, etc.)?
• What are consumers planning to buy? (in consumer electronics, connected home, computers, Internet, etc.)
• Is the smartphone killing PC shopping?
• Netbooks – are they replacing notebooks? Stalling smartphones? Withering?
• What is the impact on privacy in use of social networking?
• What are the overall future trends for the Internet?
• Which operating systems dominate within which segments?
• How do consumer attitudes about purchasing technology differ between Apple, Hewlett Packard and Dell customers?
• 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?
• 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?
• 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?
• 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 many online adults use dial-up to go online, and which countries stand out?
• How strong is name-brand dominance?
• Netbooks – how soon and with which market segments?
• Are Apple’s best customers really unique?
• Is it really one to a customer? How often are PCs shared? Which market segments use more than one PC?
• What is the mix of communication products and services – landline, wireless, email, IM, etc. – by segment?
• What’s typically bundled with a PC?
• What’s the likely near-term outcome for an OS upgrade?
• Who are the true early adopters and laggards? How does this vary by actual usage of specific products and technologies?
• Which market segments are dating online? What else do they frequently do online?
• What do most people do with their mobile phone as compared to their PC? Which align with which platforms?
• How many and which segments are watching and renting movies on which platforms?
• 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 other activities are just outside the box for gamers? Online dating? Social Networking? Music? Movies? Entertainment in general?
• How do ad volumes affect usage?
• What other items (printers, software, monitors/displays, extended service plan, etc.) do people typically buy with their PC purchase?
• Who is videoconferencing, and using which platform?
• What types and combinations of consumer electronics are homes using and planning to use?
• How many seniors are online? How is their behavior different than younger online users?
• How tech-sophisticated are game-players, within key gaming segments?
• Do game players bring their gaming with them into the workplace? To what extent? Which market segment does this the most?
• Is social networking only for certain age groups? How different are usage patterns by age?
• 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?
• To what extent does game-playing drive online usage specifically and tech usage overall?
• 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?
• How are users communicating, given all their communication options?
• Which activities are different for dial-up than broadband? What’s driving bandwidth needs?
• Which segments are keeping their files, calendars, or other information synchronized or backed up online?
• Tech adoption cycles may not be as fast as the tech-focused think. How many and which users still use film cameras?
• How prominent is printing images from mobile phones?
• Navigation, online maps, location-based mobile phone services, and GPS – who’s getting directions?
• Multitasking – who’s using lots of devices for lots of apps, few devices many apps, etc.?
• Which segments are the most music-intensive? What is the overlap of music-centered products and services by segment?
• What happens to old PCs? Are they dumped? Recycled? Sold? Which segments dispose in which way?
• Are youngsters abandoning (traditional) TV?
• How many people use calendars on their PC, their mobile phone, or both? Which types of people are these?
• How do online shopping activities differ between Hewlett Packard, Apple and Dell customers?
• How important is privacy when getting rid of old computers?
• How many screens do people view? Which market segments view more screens than other 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.

Which buyers are bucking the recession with tech shopping plans?

A TUPdate by Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts

Recession or not, what people around the world are hungering for—and apparently planning to shell out money for—is HDTVs. In the 27th annual Technology User Profile survey, HDTVs were on the top of the wish list in 14 of 16 countries among 30,889 respondents surveyed about 76 different technology products and services. Surprisingly, this HDTV interest reached uniformly across gender and included both the younger and older, unlike operating systems upgrades such as Microsoft’s Windows 7 or Apple’s Snow Leopard.

But much as they want their MTV in hi-def (or SunTV in India or Sky World News in the UK), they also put entirely practical products high on their lists, and these sometimes even stole priority from HDTVs.

The intensity of the desire for HDTVs varied, peaking in the developing nations. Globally, an average of 27 percent of online PC adults were making plans that include an HDTV, but the percentage rose to 53 percent in Brazil, and was 40 percent among China’s Urbanites, India’s Urbanites, and Russia, and 39 percent of Mexico’s Urbanites. On the other hand, only 12 percent of the Dutch and 16 percent of the Japanese were making such plans, indicating a saturated market or jaded TV watchers.

The two countries where HDTVs did not top the list were China and India. In China, the number one choice was those wireless keyboard-mouse combos. These practical devices were desired by 43 percent of the respondents, pushing HDTVs (which 40 percent planned to purchase) into second place. In India, meanwhile, everyone seemed to be planning to buy everything, pushing HDTVs (40 percent) into sixth place, behind those ubiquitous wireless keyboard/mouse combos (49 percent), digital camcorders with memory cards (42 percent), wireless mice by themselves (42 percent), wireless keyboards by themselves (41 percent), and additional RAM for their long-suffering PCs (40 percent).

The interest in upgrading operating system software varied surprisingly by gender/age group. In percentage terms, the group with the strongest interest is males age 18 to 24. However, looking more deeply, this group’s much stronger interest in so many other tech product outweighs these plans so an operating system upgrade is ranked 28th among these youngsters and ranked 6th among males 55+ and 12th among males 45 to 54.

In case you were wondering, U.S. respondents did list HDTVs as numero uno, but still only 19 percent wanted one. Number two on the list was additional RAM (14 percent), third was a digital camcorder with a memory card (13 percent), fourth was that wireless keyboard/mouse combo (12 percent) while fifth was their very own DVR/PVR digital/personal video recorder (12 percent). This may be so they can time-shift and not have to watch TV commercials.

Speaking of DVRs/PVRs, which give the users additional control over their entertainment, that device was number two on the list in Australia, Germany, England, and Japan, number three in Italy, and number four in the Netherlands and Spain. Globally, it was ranked number 8.

The wild card among products appeared to be the arguably obsolete analog camcorder. Globally, only 9 percent of respondents admitted to planning to buy one, but the rate shot to 31 percent in China, 28 percent in India, and 20 percent in Saudi Arabia. On the other extreme, demand amounted to only 1 percent in the Netherlands and Japan.

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.

HP mobile PCs have the lowest pass-along rate, with one in twenty-five (4%) being used/refurbished, less than half the 9% national average.

Used/Refurbished Mobile PCs by Brand - Mobile PC Brand Profile Report

Also, Apple Home PCs are used differently than Windows Home PCs. Apples are more often used for graphics & imaging, personal, and communication activities, with more than 25% more activities in each category. Apple users simply find a wider range of uses for their computers than Windows users.

Number of Activities by Type - Apple Profile Report 2008

When it comes to the everyday activities for a Home PC, there is little difference between Apple and Windows PCs. The top 10 activities on Apples are the same as the top 10 for Windows PCs, although the order is slightly different.  

Among the top 20 activities for Apple Home PCs, only three are unique to Apple – not in the top 20 for Windows Home PCs:

•  #14 – Download music or MP3s
•  #16 – Use a community/social networking group (e.g. Facebook, LinkedIn, Ryze)
•  #17 – Read online publications (e.g. ezines, blogs)

There are 11 activities which stand out as uniquely Apple, reaching a much higher proportion of its base. Some of these activities are not widespread, so might be leading-edge if they gain popularity among Windows users, or may simply reflect Apple’s unique users.

For example, creating web pages is a function of Apple’s software as well as its audience. One-fourth (25%) of Apple Home PCs are used to create web pages, compared with one in nine (11%) Windows Home PCs. Apple simply makes it easy and smooth to create well-accepted web sites, both with bundled software such as iLife, as well as commercially available software and a tightly supportive ecosystem. Also, Apple users are more often in the creative class, with occupations and interests that are more outer-directed and proactive than typical Windows users.

Uniquely Strong Activities for Apple Home PCs - Apple Profile Report 2008

There is not a large difference in the number of hours that Apple users use their Home PCs than Windows Home PCs. On average, Apple Home PCs are used 18.1 hours per week, slightly less than the 18.5 hour average for Windows Home PCs. Even for the 3rd Home PC, the usage pattern is similar: with Apples being used 10.9 hours per week compared with Windows Home PCs at 9.9 hours per week.

Apple Home PC households have a slightly less utilitarian outlook than non-Apple households. Two-thirds (67%) of Apple households say they find their computer more useful than a year ago. A slightly higher share – 71% – of non-Apple households says the same.

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One-quarter (26%) of mobile PCs users are relatively mobile, regularly using their mobile PCs in two or three locations, most often between home and the workplace.

One-third (32%) of mobile PCs are used in four or more locations. These range from multiple locations within the home – living room, home office, adult’s bedroom, or kitchen – to workplaces, hotels, planes & trains, and coffee shops such as Starbucks.

# of Locations Mobile PCS are Used - Mobile PC Brand Profile Report