Digital publishing is a main category for tablet app buyers, reports ABI Research
When digital publishers started targeting smartphone users, there was an opportunity to bring digital content to a highly portable environment. However, digital magazine publishing has not flourished on smartphones. The size of the devices and the digital content itself don’t seem to be the best fit for each other.
Fortunately for digital publishers, not all mobile devices are utilized in the same ways. Tablets have become the device of choice for digital magazine and e-book consumers, and new information from ABI Research predicts this trend will remain through 2016.
According to the research, iPad and Android tablet users are averaging more than 31 app downloads per year. Out of the billions of tablet apps expected to sell, over 80% will fall into four main categories: games, digital publishing, social networking, and e-commerce.
As ABI Research points out, “Consumers will opt for the more versatile media tablet over dedicated eBook readers. Leveraging unparalleled interactivity and design, publishers will gain new readers, including seniors (ages 60+) – who won’t need custom, large-print publications anymore – and children (ages 1-9).”
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Interestingly enough, the digital revolution taking place includes new audiences that haven’t been associated with digital content consumption in the past.
Additional insight from Forrester predicts 760 million tablets will be installed globally by 2016. In 2016 alone, Forrester forecasts that 375 million tablets will be sold globally. From the 2016 numbers, 33% is expected to come from business, while 40% is predicted from emerging markets.
Forrester expects businesses to migrate towards tablets and away from laptops for a few reasons. Tablets afford a better opportunity to working with groups of people and sharing. “There’s no barriers of a vertical screen, no distracting keyboard clatter, and it just feels natural to pass over a tablet, like a piece of paper, compared to spinning around a laptop,” says Frank Gillett, an analyst for Forrester.
In a short time, tablets have turned from devices purely for pleasure, to a devices expected to transform work environments through more interactive opportunities.
With digital publishing – including digital magazine publishing and e-book publishing – one of the main categories consumers are turning towards on their tablets, and the expected rate of tablet growth over the next few years, digital publishers have a real chance to secure new audiences by providing great digital content.
