Tablets or PCs: How your business can choose the right tech

Since launching in Australia in 2010, tablets have grown enormously popular in a short space of time. By 2012, annual tablet sales had reached 2.4 million. More than 15 million Australians had access to a tablet at the end of 2017.  

With a significantly longer history behind them, personal computers are even more popular and widely used than their smaller handheld counterparts. Of course, there’s nothing stopping you from owning both. In fact, by 2014 nearly one in two Australians had both a tablet and a personal computer. Even so, the personal computer remains the hub of household online activity.

According to 2014 Roy Morgan Research, more people used a PC for their internet activities than a tablet. Email was the number one online activity for both devices, with 68 per cent of people emailing via personal computer in an average four-week period and 34 per cent using a tablet. General internet browsing was the second most common activity, with 48 per cent of people using a personal computer and 29 per cent using a tablet.

“We are fast approaching the moment when the majority of Australians live in a household with both a tablet computer and a laptop or desktop computer − and to top it off, more than three in four of these people also have a smartphone!” says Tim Martin, former General Manager − Media, Roy Morgan Research.

"Although the personal computer remains the more commonly used device for all internet activities, any business with an online presence will need to keep a close eye on our changing device preferences."