Canadian tablet penetration to reach 30% in April: ComScore

More than a quarter of all Canadian mobile subscribers owned a tablet before Christmas and that number will rise when post-holiday numbers are released in April, ComScore Inc. media analyst Brent Bernie said at a conference Friday. About 26 per cent of Canadian mobile subscribers had a tablet before Christmas, Bernie said at the Canadian Media Production Association (CMPA) Prime Time conference. “We’ll have some new data in about another 30 days,” he said, “and I will bet you that that number goes over 30 .” Canadian tablet penetration surged last year, increasing by 37 per cent in the nine-month period between January and September, he said. That compared to a 36 per cent growth in smartphone penetration during the same period, with 45 per cent of mobile subscribers owning a tablet before Christmas. Analysts have predicted the penetration rate will cross the 50 per cent threshold in Canada sometime during 2012. Overall, 4.4 per cent of Canadian Internet traffic comes from “non-computer” devices, Bernie said. ComScore said 47.3 per cent of non-computer Internet traffic comes from smartphones, 39.5 per cent from tablets, and 13.2 per cent from other devices such as gaming consoles and connected TVs. In Singapore, the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia, smartphones accounted for at least 61.8 per cent of non-computer Internet traffic. Bernie said 49.9 per cent of smartphone traffic is from web browsing, accessing applications and downloading content. ComScore also said in a new report Thursday that Canada leads the world in online activity, with each Canadian spending an average of 45 hours online per month. The report, titled “Canada Digital Future in Focus 2012,” said that, in the fourth quarter of 2011, there were 12.4 billion searches in Canada, up 22 per cent from the same period a year earlier. Advertising on social networks, particularly through brands' social networking pages, are on the rise, the report said. " is opening a world of opportunity in the way that brands communicate with the market providing a first-of-its-kind platform for a more engaging and candid conversation with consumers,” the report said. Social networking and entertainment sites accounted for the majority of sites visited by Canadians, who spent 10,708 minutes on social networking sites last year, the report said. ComScore said there was a monthly average of 5.3 billion online videos viewed in Canada in the fourth quarter of 2011. The majority of those videos were in the entertainment category, the report said. Smartphones have become more prevalent in every province, with Quebec experiencing the largest increase since March, ComScore said. "Smartphone penetration has reached 45 per cent of the Canadian mobile market, reflecting the growing need to be connected on-the-go," the report said. ComScore said it is "critical" for marketers have a presence on mobile platforms to stay competitive. news@thewirereport.ca

Canadian tablet penetration to reach 30% in April: ComScore

News | 03/02/2012 9:20 pm EST

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