As wireless Internet access – including the use of cellular networks – grows in popularity, users are increasingly using their mobiles as a replacement for desktop computers
As wireless Internet access – including the use of cellular networks – grows in popularity, users are increasingly using their mobiles as a replacement for desktop computers. According to a survey May 2012 conducted by O+K Research for Kaspersky Lab, 17% of iPhone owners, 7% of Blackberry users and 48% of other smartphone owners use them on vacation if a computer or a laptop is unavailable.
A significant proportion of users – 25% - is content to use a smartphone if they do not have a computer at hand, although the fashion for tablets seems to be slightly behind the convenience of a pocket-sized smartphone: for example, only 15% of surveyed use Apple iPad on vacation. 8% of respondents prefer to spend their holidays entirely cut off from any mobile devices.
Mobile devices at work or on vacation are most often used for email communication – this activity was selected by 62% of tablet and 54% of smartphone owners. Next come social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter with 59% and 54% respectively. 47% of respondents use their mobile devices for IMS communication.
Multimedia entertainment is only slightly less popular, with 58% of tablet owners using their devices to watch online video. Not surprisingly, perhaps, smaller smartphone screens are less attractive for viewing – just 30% of mobile users tune in to online shows. 41% of mobile device users regularly listen to music online, including various Internet radio stations. 20% of tablet owners and 12% of smartphone users post and view photos on the Internet.
The data collected by O+K Research show that smartphones and tablet are ever more frequently used in place of computers, at least when it comes to communication and entertainment. They are also often used to store important personal information which must be reliably protected from malicious activity and unauthorized access in case of loss or theft. This can be done with the help of two specialized products from Kaspersky Lab - Kaspersky Mobile Security designed to protect smartphones and Kaspersky Tablet Security which guards tablets.
The full version of the O+K Research report is available at http://www.kaspersky.com/downloads/pdf/kaspersky-lab_ok-consumer-survey-report_eng_final.pdf
