MANILA, Philippines — In the league of tablet devices, it seems size really does matter, as a recent study by market research firm comScore revealed that people who use tablets with larger screen sizes tend to browse the Web more.
According to a recent comScore analysis of page view consumption and screen size among tablets, it found that 10-inch tablet users surf the Web more, at a rate of about 125 browser page views per tablet.
The analysis pointed out that as screen sizes shrink, so does the rate of browser page views, suggesting “a positive association between screen size and content consumption.”
Nine-inch tablet users, for example, consume content at an average of 116 page views per tablet; 7-inch users with 90 page views per tablet; and 5-inch users with 79 page views per tablet.
Apple currently dominates the 10-inch tablet space, while Amazon has found great success in its 7-inch Kindle Fire offering. Samsung, on the other hand, has taken a shotgun approach by having a product across all screen-size categories.
comScore, however, clarified that many factors, including demographics, content availability and connection speed, could have affected the users’ consumption levels.
Nonetheless, the research firm said “the results of this analysis highlight important questions for the industry as the tablet space develops.”
Apple’s 7-inch itch
It will be remembered that about two years ago, erstwhile Apple CEO and co-founder, the late Steve Jobs, was adamant against Apple producing smaller-sized tablets, even calling them “tweeners” of the tablet market.
“[They are] too big to compete with a smartphone and too small to compete with the iPad,” Jobs reasoned, as he deemed these small tablets “Dead on Arrival.”
“There are physical limits on how close you can put elements on a touch screen before users can not reliably tap, flick or pinch them. This is one of the key reasons we think that 10-inch screen size is the minimum size required to create great tablet apps,” Jobs added.
Despite Apple’s conviction against 7-inch tablets, rumors in the past few weeks have indicated that finally, the technology giant could be well on its way to producing what has been dubbed as the “iPad Mini.”
According to reports by various Asian publications, Apple has reportedly ordered 7.86-inch screens from Samsung, its supplier for tablet displays.
“From a competitive standpoint, we believe an iPad mini with a lower price point would be the competition’s worst nightmare,” said an analyst, referring to other tablet vendors who have had a hard time competing against the iPad.
Despite Apple’s strong hold of the global tablet market, one technology firm has managed to crack Apple’s dominance — and it’s through a 7-inch tablet strategy in the form of the Amazon Kindle Fire.
In fact, Amazon’s quarterly results recently beat Wall Street’s expectations as its shares soar by as much as 15 percent, driving the company’s market value upward by more than $10 billion.
