• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, May 28, 2012

According to Kathryn Cave, Editor of IDG Connect, with an analysis of research into marketers’ opinions of tablet growth to discover how today’s marketers will impact tomorrow’s business landscape, 12% of iPad users already say the device has completely replaced their traditional laptop, while another 54% said it had partially replaced their laptop. In addition, 44% of marketers believe tablets will have a high or very high impact on laptop use in 2012.

Last year, says cave, Rupert Murdoch told the Fox Business Network that he thought tablets represented the “end of laptops.” This is a strong opinion, she notes, but it is partially supported by the IDG research. The opinions of marketers on the future of laptops are divided though, says the report. The majority sit somewhere in the middle, with 37% suggesting it will have a high impact and 37% indicating it will have some impact.

Marketers appear more certain about tablets’ impact on smartphone usage, says Cave. 62% believe widespread adoption will have little or no effect on the tablet’s smaller cousin. However, IDG iPad research contradicts this. It shows that although smartphones have only been fully replaced by iPads in 2% of instances, they have been partially replaced by 43% of users, only 10% lower than the statistics for laptops.

Cave’s analysis concludes that the fact that tablets are widely used, and 79% of iPad owning professionals always use them on the move, is all the evidence marketers should need to target this medium. Bored, constantly interrupted commuters are the perfect consumers, she says, making ripe for new methods of engagement.
Cave concludes that “... the increased use in tablets is clearly significant... because the average tablet user is liable to be more sensitive to the user experience than most, and have higher expectations for entertainment... “

For more about this report, and the complete four part series, please visit here.