¾ of Smartphone Owners Often Use Phone to Navigate

A new study shows the extent to which smartphones are cannabalizing other consumer electronics products.

According to the Consumer Electronics Association, smartphones and tablets are cutting into use of laptops, camcorders, eReaders, GPS and navigaiton devices, portable game machines and cameras. 

Smartphones have become the primary device for taking pictures (78 percent), recording videos (74 percent), getting directions (69 percent), reading e-books (62 percent), listening to music (59 percent) and playing games (39 percent).

People still mainly use laptops and desktops to surf the Internet, shop online, watch videos and work on documents.  But over 40 percent of smartphone and tablet owners report spending less time on their laptops.

The products that consumers say they are most likely to stop using altogether are camcorders, portable audio/MP3 players, portable game devices, GPS or navigation devices and eReaders.

An overwhelming majority of consumers are now using smartphones and tablets in order to access the Internet. The study found that 85 percent of smartphone owners browse the Web and 89 percent check email on their devices. Among tablet owners, 92 percent browse the Web and 83 percent use their tablets to check email.

In addition, smartphones are frequently being used to take pictures (92 percent), make voice calls (91 percent) and navigate (76 percent). Conversely, tablets are used for more leisurely activities such as playing games (78 percent), watching videos (66 percent) and reading eBooks (61 percent).

The information is found in a study called A Tale of Two TechsSmartphone and Tablet Adoption and Usage.  It was conducted in January and released this month.

Source: CEA