IDG finds iPad replacing PCs at work

Nearly every business pro with an iPad is using it primarily to get work done, IDG determined in a study on Monday. About 91 percent worldwide who have iPads use it for work first, leaving just the small remainder to personal-first use. About a quarter of those tablets had been supplied by work, showing that companies were increasingly handing out Apple's tablet as a corporate tool.

In a likely concern to Microsoft, many of those that did have the iPad were downplaying their notebooks. About 72 percent with iPads were using their notebooks less; 66 percent said it had at least partly replaced the computer. Worldwide, 16 percent had replaced their notebooks entirely, with that tally climbing to a high 23 percent in Europe.

Both Google and Microsoft were unlikely to dislodge Apple's position. In everywhere but Australia and New Zealand, between 52 to 75 percent of companies or their professionals had bought an iPad because they explicitly liked the features. Stereotypes of companies buying solely based on Apple's image were unfounded, researchers said: no more than 24 percent, and as little as six percent, had bought because they had "heard good things."

A steep 83 percent were loyal to the iPad, IDG added. Most workers that had an iPad were consequently already out of consideration for Android or Windows tablets. Only South America saw a significant amount of dissent at 39 percent.

Among the work tasks, most were "always" using the iPad for the web, reading, news, and work e-mail or chat. Researchers believed this often meant reading either Microsoft Office or PDF files offline in addition to whatever was on the web.

The study supports Apple assertions that as much as 92 percent of the Fortune 500 was testing or deploying iPads. It potentially created problems for Android and Windows 8. Android 4.0 doesn't have significant steps to improve the suitability of Android tablets to work, and Windows 8 isn't due until the second half of the year, letting Apple build up momentum that may be difficult to overcome.

Column 1: because I liked the features and functionality
Column 2: because I read or heard good things about it

By Electronista Staff

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