A quarter of iPad owners only use their iPad once a week -- and some don't use it at all. According to new figures, 26 per cent of iPad users only use their Apple slate once a week, and 1 in 10 say they may not pick it up at all.
Less than half of owners, 42 per cent, say they use their iPad every day.
Of those who use their iPad less than once a week, half don't bother because they don't own a 3G model, so they can only use the iPad when they've got a Wi-Fi signal and not while wandering around. Several of those who don't use it say they just can't think of a need for it.
What?! Think harder! What about all those lovely apps? Flipboard? GarageBand and iMovie? What about reading ebooks, catching up on the news or watching movies? What about free video calls? What about Angry Birds and Infinity Blade? What about taking it in the bathroom?
If all that isn't enough for you, how about using your iPad as a DJ deck, video arcade or skateboard? Or you could eat your dinner off it.
1,531 British iPad owners were polled by discount site www.MyVoucherCodes.co.uk. 14 per cent said they had been given the iPad as a gift and so never needed it in the first place. An iPad as a gift? They don't know they're born.
We wonder how the figures might be different for owners of Android tablets. We suspect that anyone choosing an Android tablet is probably a bit more tech-savvy and more likely to use their slate more often -- that's our theory anyway.
How often do you use your iPad? Has your tablet changed your life, or is it an expensive paperweight? Let us know in the comments or on our Facebook page.
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Alastair Mitchell 10 November, 2011 14:45
I use my iPad everyday. It is normally always with me when I'm in the flat on the WiFi. If I find myself somewhere without WiFi I am probably playing games or reading the new Guardian app.
I rarely go on my computer anymore.
Peter Hudson 10 November, 2011 14:53
Same here, I do use my laptop a lot still but I would normally find myself going for my iPad first if I need to do anything
Rich Trenholm 10 November, 2011 15:00
I use mine first thing while waiting for my computer to boot up. Whizzing through RSS feeds and email is so much quicker. Then in the evenings I try not to turn my computer on so I don't get sucked in, so the iPad is great for quickly looking stuff up or just messing about.
anonymous 10 November, 2011 15:27
Whilst there will be a substantial number of professional users (like the three above commenters), there will be an equal or greater number of people who've bought one because they're "in" or - as the article mentions - received one as an unwanted gift. (eBay?!?)
Garageband? iMovie? That's the stuff of ad-land! Things that people rave about, try once and (unless you're actually already into making music and movies) never use again.
Dean Shepherd 10 November, 2011 15:28
"We suspect that anyone choosing an Android tablet is probably a bit more tech-savvy and more likely to use their slate more often"
why is android always seen as much more complicated and that the users have to be tech savvy....both my other half and mother have android and they aren't tech savvy.....I might be though lol, but then I play around with ROM's and Rooting...but then I did also do the exact same to my old nokia phones with cooking firmware and my old iphone with jailbreaking etc.
anonymous 10 November, 2011 15:44
"What?! Think harder! What about all those lovely apps? Flipboard? GarageBand and iMovie? What about reading ebooks, catching up on the news or watching movies? What about free video calls? What about Angry Birds and Infinity Blade? What about taking it in the bathroom?"
Why not just use your laptop, which in the majority of these cases works better than using the iPad anyway.
anonymous 10 November, 2011 16:03
I have a Galaxy Tab 10.1. Was tempted by the iPad but ultimately, I bought the thing so that I can louge around in front of the TV playing on the internet, rather than booting up my Intel i7 12gbRAM beast that munches through the electricity.
Use my tab every single day for pretty much everything other than the 3d rendering that I use my desktop for, etc.) as I would rather spend my free time doing something vaguely productive.
anonymous 10 November, 2011 16:12
I use it daily, I have the wifi model as theres no need to get a 3g one when I can tether it to my phones 3g signal for free! Im never without my phone!
It would be much better if I could natively browse/stream and download from my NAS and didn't have to depend on 3rd party apps, Apples insistance on playing only their formats really shows on the ipad when i'm trying to get AVIs etc on there! Mine was bought as a gift for me as I would never have bought it for me, I think it is an expensive way to check FB and the Twit! I don't play games on it at all and I have a kindle which is much better to read things on! But, there is something about it! Not 400 quids worth like!
Rich Trenholm 10 November, 2011 18:13
"Why not just use your laptop"
I see your point, but the whole point for me is that I use the iPad because I specifically don't want to sit down at my computer. It's much better for lounging around and for small tasks like quickly clearing your Inbox or zapping through packed RSS feeds - for me anyway
anonymous 10 November, 2011 18:24
I have a MacBook Pro and iPod Touch 4G... Why do Apple think I need something inbetween the two? Basically, all the iPad is, is only big massive iPod Touch with a few things sprinkled on top. I honestly have never seen the point in owning one. It's not like you can do any proper work it, like you can on other tablet PC's that run proper computer OS's i.e. Windows 7. The iPad had no real purpose but to mess around and usually people don't have the time for that.
anonymous 10 November, 2011 18:48
Funnily enough, I had a MacBook Pro and an iPod touch before iPad came out, and I really couldn't see the point of the iPad when it first landed. Then I used one, and it very quickly made sense. Waaaaaay more portable than the laptop, instant-on, and crazy battery life. Waaaay faster than the iPod touch, and with a much more usable screen, and did I mention battery life? Fits in the middle beautifully, to such an extent that the MBP now spends much of its time languishing next to the sofa and the iPod's gone back to being pretty much purely an iPod (only used for listening to music, podcasts and Doodle Jump). The iPad gets 4-5 hrs use per day. Browsing, telly, social, Flipboard, reading, watching podcasts, email, you name it.
professerclever 10 November, 2011 19:54
Received it as a gift but don't use it?! Ungrateful morons! I could spend hours responding to this article describing what I use it for but you have not got the brains you were born with and ......... WHATEVER!!!
anonymous 10 November, 2011 22:04
My ipad pretty much replaced my laptop and desktop. I only use my desktop for heavy design and music production now. Even some of this I can do in my iPad. I use it everyday for many hours a day. So many uses.
Scott Woodrow 10 November, 2011 22:55
i use my iPad everyday to read my comics, check my bank account and looking up stuff when in a rush. why boot up my powerful Alienware which takes around 5-10 minutes to boot when i can wake my iPad up in a second
redmozzy 11 November, 2011 00:45
I use my iPad all the time. I only have a computer at home and no laptop so the iPad fills that gap. It's also great on the train, watching films, surfing, games etc
bk93 11 November, 2011 01:47
This is ridiculous, I use my iPad every day and every night! If you're not going to use it frequently especially once a week, why buy an iPad in the first place?
olivierm 11 November, 2011 15:17
One interesting thing would be to know how that compares with usage of similar devices, such as netbooks ... But I am sure you'll find the same pattern with users of plenty of objects, electronic or not, however useful they are to some ! My collection of DIY tools come to mind.
Kio Amachree 11 November, 2011 16:20
I use both my IPads every day . I don't know what I would do without an IPad . Love it to death . My old IPad is used as a TV to watch Sky and my IPad 2 for all kinds of things banking , work , browsing reading books etc etc.
I just don't believe the survey .
anonymous 11 November, 2011 16:29
Apple has managed to make people think they need it, that there is no life without it. European people are a less consumer society than Americans. They think before and not after. Gadget is great, no doubt, but how many really need it? I think more than half people that own it just don't, and they sometimes try hard to justify. Marketing magic that trickles minds.
professerclever 11 November, 2011 18:47
I never knew what it was really capable of until I bought one. Had I known, I would have bought the iPad 1:
Books (reading Steve Jobs bio at the moment), videos (especially BBC iPlayer) and any video format I like to watch on the go (AVPlayer HD), presentations (I use Keynote for work and it blows people away), photos (for editing, special effects and showing to friends), playing and creating music (especially DJAY as an ex DJ myself) along with various Apps like Garage Band for fun, Shazam to identify tracks I hear and iWiki for the lyrics, games (not really the best use I must say - will stick with my PS3 for those in future), translations, dictations, dictionaries, encyclopaedias, maps, spreadsheets, email, newspapers and periodicals, calculator, cookbooks. NO I don't NEED IT but I am so glad I bought it!!
Maybe those that have no use for it have not explored the myriad of Apps available; at prices that are incredibly low for their capabilities.
anonymous 11 November, 2011 22:09
Stop to make all app with a price € and you will see if people not gonna use it everyday...ciao
anonymous 12 November, 2011 14:41
My girlfriend got one ad a gift, before she got it she was sceptical but she now uses it every day. When she isn't using it I will nick it for a quick read on the bog!
Brettdrum 13 November, 2011 01:50
I simply don't believe this article . Ours is used all day long and so is every one I've seen in several households . Not for apps but for the big 5 . News ,email , Facebook , movies, books ...then for us it's photos , maps and kids games ... Plus news includes magazines and so on .
I genuinely don't believe the facts of that article
minimach 13 November, 2011 02:24
iPad are used less mainly because of 2 reasons, lack of 3G and the unit is too big/heavy and cumbersome to bring it everywhere people go.
anonymous 13 November, 2011 04:37
I wish those ungrateful people who had an iPad but didn't want it would give it to me!! Unfortunately even though I'm desperate for one I can't afford it, but I enter every competition I can find where I can win one!! *sigh* Enjoy your iPads everyone!!
anonymous 13 November, 2011 18:47
Come on REALLY, you buy an IPad and don't use it. My wife and two kids have iPads and use them everyday. Do you think that the "I hate apple and everything that do" brigade answered a few questions.
And you need to be more tech savvy to use android!!!!! do me a favour. Your article sucks.
anonymous 13 November, 2011 20:06
I was sucked in to buying one for me and my wife. What a waste of money. It was great for about two weeks, but the sparkle goes fast. If you own a laptop don't waste your money. It is a stupid big phone that doesn't make calls and I have two in the house somewhere I wish I hadn't bought.
anonymous 14 November, 2011 16:15
I use my Ipad everyday. The extent to which I use it really lies in the way that my house is set up. When my kids are around and watching TV on the laptop it is pretty much my sole computer. Now that they are with their mother I use my notebook for most tasks. I would probably use it more but it doesn't do Raw photos and stuff natively so it doesn't do my primary stuff. Now I mostly use it to check my mail and blog with blogpress. So much faster. I also use it for my organizer. I really wish that Apple would jump on the SWIPE bandwagon because in tablet form that is such a faster input method than tap tap tapping on the screen.
anonymous 15 November, 2011 20:25
I use my multiple Android devices every day. The 10" Xoom tablet stays at home though, as I don't want to also carry something to keep it out of the rain. What's the point of a light tablet if you have to lug lots of stuff around with it? Having said that, it's very good for browsing while the family is watching TV, and is generally much better designed and built that I was expecting.
The 7" HTC Flyer tablet just fits in a pocket, so I can carry this around relatively easily. But it has recently been replaced by my new 5" Samsung Note, my current favourite: 1280x800, dual core 1.4GHz A9 (with NEON), stylus even. 1080p HD. It fits in my shirt pocket so is always with me. It is also replacing my older (now backup) Samsung Galaxy 2, which is alsoexcellent.
Various other phones and tablets have ended up with friends and family.
PS Any Android device with 3G can end up as a WiFi hotspot for the other devices, but not having mobile access at all is ridiculous.
anonymous 18 November, 2011 17:05
Use it everyday. Currently trying to edit home movies with imovie. Never did that on a PC just too inconvenient. Now I can spend a few minutes at a time, over a week I'll get a few hours in. Can't do it that way on a PC. Only have the wifi version. Used my phone as a hotspot a couple of times but never really needed to.