Media tablets could be the device of choice for mobile workers during 2013, based upon the findings of a recent study.
Over the last couple of years, touch-screen slate computers have really risen to the fore, led by the Apple iPad, Samsung Galaxy and other front-line models.
Initially adopted by home consumers, working people quickly identified a role for tablets in the workplace as an essential productivity tool.
Roles have been found for them in both the front and back office, and given their high level of portability and flexibility, on the move.
Adoption rates soared again this year, with IDC predicting 122 million shipments over the course of 2012.
By 2016, the analyst expects this figure to reach 282.7 million around the world – a staggering number of sales.
Media tablets catching smartphones up
There is evidence to suggest that the platform is already catching up with smartphones, which have long been the pre-eminent form of mobile connected device.
According to Flurry, smartphone activations normally outnumber tablets by four to one, but Christmas Day bucked the trend this year.
The firm reported that 51 per cent of new activations on December 25th 2012 were for media tablets, compared to just 49 per cent for smartphones.
This suggests that more people received media tablets for Christmas than smartphones, reflecting the growing popularity of the devices.
Media tablets and BYOD schemes
In terms of mobile working, much depends on the attitudes of employers towards handheld technology.
Eager to appease their workers and optimise productivity rates, many firms are allowing staff to use their own mobile devices on corporate networks.
Bring your own device (BYOD) schemes are being rolled out across the country, as workers recognise the benefits of using the mobile technology they know and love in the course of their job.
And with more people receiving a media tablet for Christmas, it follows that more employees may look to use their device at work in the coming weeks and months.
With so many business functions now operational on the move, both tablets and smartphones have a big part to play in companies of the future – and in the lives of their employees.
