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any1
I think we ARE in the beginning stages of the "post-PC" era, which doesn't mean ...
Frank Eory
I'm actually surprised that the average number of connected devices is only 5.7 ...
More than 500 million connected devices in U.S. homes
Dylan McGrath
3/20/2013 1:01 AM EDT
Thanks to big increases in tablet and smartphone sales, there are now more than half a billion devices in U.S. homes that are connected to the Internet, according to market research firm NPD Group.
The number of connected devices in each U.S. household with Internet access now averages 5.7, up from 5.3 devices three months ago, NPD Group (Port Washington, N.Y.) said. In those three month, the installed base of tablets increased by nearly 18 million, the firm said. There are also nearly 9 million more smartphones users, according to the NPD Group's latest connected Intelligence report.
No surprise: Apple and Samsung remained the most prevalent smartphone brands consumers own, and Apple continues to dominate the tablet market, NPD Group said.
But despite the heady growth by smartphones and tablets over the past couple of years, PCs still reign supreme among connected devices in U.S. homes.
"Even with this extraordinary growth in the smartphone and tablet market, PCs are still the most prevalent connected device in U.S. Internet households, and this is a fact that won’t be changing any time soon," said John Buffone, director of devices research for NPD connected intelligence, in a statement. "However, when you look at the combined number of smartphones and tablets consumers own, for the first time ever it exceeded the installed base of computers."
PC penetration among U.S. Internet connected households is nearly 93 percent, but virtually unchanged over the three month period, according to NPD Group. Over the same period, smartphone penetration among cellphone users rose from 52 percent to 57 percent and tablet penetration increased from 35 percent of Internet households to 53 percent, according to the report.
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The number of connected devices in each U.S. household with Internet access now averages 5.7, up from 5.3 devices three months ago, NPD Group (Port Washington, N.Y.) said. In those three month, the installed base of tablets increased by nearly 18 million, the firm said. There are also nearly 9 million more smartphones users, according to the NPD Group's latest connected Intelligence report.
No surprise: Apple and Samsung remained the most prevalent smartphone brands consumers own, and Apple continues to dominate the tablet market, NPD Group said.
But despite the heady growth by smartphones and tablets over the past couple of years, PCs still reign supreme among connected devices in U.S. homes.
"Even with this extraordinary growth in the smartphone and tablet market, PCs are still the most prevalent connected device in U.S. Internet households, and this is a fact that won’t be changing any time soon," said John Buffone, director of devices research for NPD connected intelligence, in a statement. "However, when you look at the combined number of smartphones and tablets consumers own, for the first time ever it exceeded the installed base of computers."
PC penetration among U.S. Internet connected households is nearly 93 percent, but virtually unchanged over the three month period, according to NPD Group. Over the same period, smartphone penetration among cellphone users rose from 52 percent to 57 percent and tablet penetration increased from 35 percent of Internet households to 53 percent, according to the report.
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Bert22306
3/20/2013 3:20 PM EDT
This article only underscores the meaninglessness of the "post-PC world" mantra. When PCs are present in 93 percent of connected homes, just how much growth can one expect? I'll bet a lot of these connected homes already have more than one PC in them. What you expect, at this level of coverage, is replacements and upgrades only.
When smartphones reach a number in that 90 percent neighborhood, would anyone expect their growth to be so high as to perpetuate the current hype about them?
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Duane Benson
3/21/2013 1:16 AM EDT
Bert - I totally agree. This is no more a "post-PC" era, than were the years that laptops were becoming popular or towers overtook horizontal cases. Tablets are a pretty amazing advance, but they're are a) something different or b) just another PC in a different form factor.
There may be a post-pc era at some point, but that point isn't now.
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any1
3/25/2013 1:49 PM EDT
I think we ARE in the beginning stages of the "post-PC" era, which doesn't mean PCs are dead, just dying. The Wintel duopoly is fading. If you want to call tablets a PC with a different form factor I think you're missing the bigger picture. Sure they're all just computing devices of one sort or another but we are witnessing a sea change of hardware and software as well as form factor. One where fast growing Asian markets, not the US market, will ultimately decide the winners and loosers.
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Frank Eory
3/21/2013 7:49 PM EDT
I'm actually surprised that the average number of connected devices is only 5.7 per household.
Throw some young people into the mix -- my kids & their friends -- and between all the smartphones, a couple tablets, my desktop PCs, gaming consoles and Blu-ray players, at any giving moment I seem to have a disturbing number of clients connected to my WiFi router!
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