Older Technologies Continue to Hang On

Harris Interactive announced its latest survey suggests that adopters of new technology appear reluctant to let go of their old gadgets and habits.

For more information visit: www.harrisinteractive.com


Unedited press release follows:

Cutting Edge Technologies Supplementing — Rather than Displacing — Older Tech, At Least For Now

Tablets owners in particular show stronger ownership/usage for just about every type of tech

NEW YORK, June 12, 2013 — The technological world moves incredibly fast, with cutting edge trends sometimes getting pushed to the edge of the information and entertainment superhighway almost before the digital ink of their announcements has dried. Netbooks, for example, seemed to be the next big thing for a short time until falling victim to their own limited capabilities. E-readers have faced speculation that they may follow a similar trend, though the jury is still out on this category, with 17% of U.S. adults owning one.

In fact, adopters of new technology appear reluctant to let go of the old, with those owning key tech items in many cases over-indexing (when compared to the general U.S. adult population) on ownership for some of the very pieces of less cutting edge technology these devices threaten to replace.

These are some of the results of The Harris Poll of 2,345 adults surveyed online between April 10 and 15, 2013 by Harris Interactive as part of a quarterly “Tech Tracker” intended to act as a barometer of technology ownership and interactions among U.S. adults; the tracking study began in January of 2013, though some results reference data collected in May and September of 2012. (Full findings and data tables available here)

Android and iPhone ownership up, but smartphones’ impending replacement of digital cameras in question
Ownership of both Android powered smartphones (26%) and iPhones (22%) has risen considerably since May of last year (18% and 17%, respectively); Android ownership is also up slightly since January (23%), while iPhone ownership is comparable to its January level (21%).

There’s been much talk of whether smartphones are reaching a point where they can replace stand-alone digital cameras, and reports of diminishing digital camera sales would appear to support this.  However, while these sales drops may or may not be attributable directly to smartphones, smartphone owners are at least as likely as the national average to currently own a point and shoot type digital camera (58%, vs. 56% of U.S. adults) and are nearly 30% more likely than the national average to own a digital SLR camera (22%, vs. 17% of U.S. adults).

Most streaming viewers still swimming with traditional TV providers as well
Another area where new tech appears to be acting more as an addition to the status quo than a replacement to it is streaming viewership.  Although those Americans subscribing to one or more streaming services (24% Netflix, 11% Amazon Prime, 5% Hulu Plus) are a bit less likely than the general population to subscribe to either a cable or satellite service (75% among U.S. adults, 70% among streaming subscribers), seven in ten are still embracing the traditional model of TV consumption.

Tablet owners – the ultimate tech consumers?
Although much has been written about the versatility of tablets and the many technologies they may eventually replace, for now tablet owners seem reluctant to let go of, well, pretty much anything with a battery and a microchip. In fact, tablet owners are more likely than non-owners to also own all kinds of technological goodies, including those that tablets are said to be in danger of replacing, such as laptop computers and e-reader devices:

• Mobile phone of any kind – 91% tablet owners, 74% non-owners
–    Smartphone – 70% tablet owners, 39% non-owners

• TV any kind – 82% tablet owners, 74% non-owners
–    HDTV – 71% tablet owners, 55% non-owners

• Laptop computer – 78% tablet owners, 60% non-owners

• Digital camera of any kind – 75% tablet owners, 59% non-owners

• Standalone DVD or Blu-ray player – 62% tablet owners, 51% non-owners

• Home video game console – 55% tablet owners, 33% non-owners

• Digital video recorder or DVR (TiVo, etc.) – 42% tablet owners, 27% non-owners

• E-reader – 23% tablet owners, 14% non-owners

• Handheld video game console – 23% tablet owners, 11% non-owners

• Set-top streaming media box (Roku, Apple TV, etc.) – 13% tablet owners, 3% non-owners

Perhaps not surprisingly given the entertainment possibilities tablets open up, tablet owners are also significantly more likely to subscribe to streaming services – nearly 80% more likely than non-owners to subscribe to Netflix’s steaming service (34% tablet owners, 19% non-owners), over 40% more likely to subscribe to Hulu Plus (7% tablet owners, 4% non-owners) and over 250% more likely to subscribe to Amazon Prime (22% tablet owners, 6% non-owners).  But even so, they are also more likely than non-owners to subscribe to either cable or satellite TV services (80% tablet owners, 73% non-owners).

Tech trends continue to evolve, with nary a month going by without a major product launch of some kind.  As electronic gadgets and the ways we interact with them continue to evolve, The Harris Poll will be continuing to monitor what’s happening now and what may be just over the horizon.

Methodology
This Harris Poll was conducted online within the United States between April 10 and 15, 2013 among 2,345 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words “margin of error” as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in the Harris Interactive panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

The results of this Harris Poll may not be used in advertising, marketing or promotion without the prior written permission of Harris Interactive.

Product and brand names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

The Harris Poll® #35, June 12, 2013

By Larry Shannon-Missal, Harris Poll Research Manager

About Harris Interactive
Harris Interactive is one of the world’s leading market research firms, leveraging research, technology, and business acumen to transform relevant insight into actionable foresight. Known widely for the Harris Poll® and for pioneering innovative research methodologies, Harris offers proprietary solutions in the areas of market and customer insight, corporate brand and reputation strategy, and marketing, advertising, public relations and communications research. Harris possesses expertise in a wide range of industries including health care, technology, public affairs, energy, telecommunications, financial services, insurance, media, retail, restaurant, and consumer package goods. Additionally, Harris has a portfolio of multi-client offerings that complement our custom solutions while maximizing our client’s research investment. Serving clients in more than 196 countries and territories through our North American and European offices, Harris specializes in delivering research solutions that help us – and our clients—stay ahead of what’s next. For more information, please visit www.harrisinteractive.com.

TABLE 1a
DEVICES OWNED

Computing & Mobile – Trended

“Which of the following do you currently own? Please select all that apply.”
Base: All U.S. adults

 

May 2012

Sept. 2012

Jan. 2013

April 2013

%

%

%

%

Computer [NET]

na

na

95

95

Desktop computer [NET]

na

na

70

70

Desktop computer (Windows based)

62

59

61

62

Desktop computer (Apple based)

10

7

8

7

Desktop computer (other)

na

na

4

5

Laptop computer [NET]

na

na

70

66

Laptop computer (Windows based)

56

57

59

56

Laptop computer (Apple based)

12

10

10

9

Laptop computer (other)

na

na

5

5

Mobile Phone [NET]

na

na

80

79

Smartphone [NET]

na

na

46

49

Android powered smartphone

18

24

23

26

iPhone

17

21

21

22

Blackberry

7

5

4

4

Windows mobile powered smartphone

4

3

2

3

Standard mobile phone (i.e. a phone mainly for calls and/or texting; not a smartphone)

na

na

40

35

Tablet [NET]

na

na

35

33

iPad

13

15

18

16

Amazon Kindle Fire series tablet

na

na

11

9

Samsung Galaxy series tablet

na

na

4

3

iPad mini

na

na

2

2

Google Nexus series tablet

na

na

1

2

Windows powered tablet

2

1

2

1

Other Android powered tablet

na

na

4

6

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding

TABLE 1b
DEVICES OWNED

Entertainment & Media – Trended

“Which of the following do you currently own? Please select all that apply.”
Base: U.S. adults

 

May 2012

Sept. 2012

Jan. 2013

April 2013

%

%

%

%

TV [NET]

na

na

79

77

HDTV [NET]

na

na

61

60

HDTV w/out built-in Internet capabilities

na

na

50

49

HDTV w/ built-in Internet capabilities (Smart TV)

na

na

17

16

Standard definition TV

na

na

36

36

Digital camera [NET]

661

651

68

64

Digital camera – point & shoot

58

56

Digital camera – SLR

19

17

DVD/Blu-ray Player [NET]

na

na

58

55

Standalone DVD player (not including other devices that can also play DVD’s)

na

na

49

47

Standalone Blu-ray player (not including other devices that can also play Blu-ray disks)

na

na

22

22

Home video game console [NET]

na

na

43

40

Nintendo Wii / Wii U

na

na

29

26

Xbox 360

na

16

18

17

Sony PlayStation 3

14

12

14

15

TV Devices [NET]

na

na

36

35

Digital Video Recorder or DVR (TiVo, etc.)

na

na

32

32

Set-top streaming media box (Roku, Apple TV, etc.)

na

na

7

6

E-reader [NET]

na

na

21

17

Amazon Kindle e-reader that is not a tablet computer

16

15

13

12

Barnes & Noble Nook e-reader

6

5

6

5

Other e-reader

na

na

3

1

Handheld video game console [NET]

na

na

15

15

Nintendo DS/3DS

na

na

12

12

Sony PSP or PS Vita

na

na

5

6

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding

1 2012 Polls asked “digital camera” without distinction between point-and-shoot and SLR

TABLE 1c
DEVICES OWNED

Computing & Mobile – Generation, Gender & Children in HH

“Which of the following do you currently own? Please select all that apply.”
Base: U.S. adults

 

April 2013

Generation

Gender

Children <18 in HH

Echo Boomers

(18-35)

Gen X (36-47)

Baby Boomers (48-66)

Matures (67+)

Male

Female

Yes

No

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

Computer [NET]

95

93

95

97

95

95

95

95

95

Desktop computer [NET]

70

52

69

79

85

75

65

65

71
Desktop computer (Windows based)

62

45

61

71

73

68

56

56

64

Desktop computer (Apple based)

7

5

5

8

10

7

7

6

7

Desktop computer (other)

5

5

6

4

4

5

4

6

4

Laptop computer [NET]

66

77

71

63

44

66

66

73

63

Laptop computer (Windows based)

56

60

62

56

39

57

55

60

55

Laptop computer (Apple based)

9

15

8

6

2

8

9

11

8

Laptop computer (other)

5

9

5

3

3

6

4

9

4

Mobile Phone [NET]

79

86

83

76

68

82

77

81

79

Smartphone [NET]

49

69

63

39

16

54

45

63

44

Android powered smartphone

26

35

34

21

7

29

23

33

23

iPhone

22

36

28

15

6

25

20

32

19

Blackberry

4

4

4

3

3

4

3

5

3

Windows mobile powered smartphone

3

1

5

3

1

3

3

3

2

Standard mobile phone (i.e. a phone mainly for calls and/or texting; not a smartphone)

35

23

29

40

54

33

36

26

38

Tablet [NET]

33

39

40

29

20

32

33

44

28

iPad

16

19

19

14

9

17

14

20

14

Amazon Kindle Fire series tablet

9

9

12

8

8

8

11

13

8

Samsung Galaxy series tablet

3

4

4

2

1

3

3

5

2

iPad mini

2

2

2

1

1

1

2

3

1

Google Nexus series tablet

2

4

2

*

1

3

1

3

1

Windows powered tablet

1

1

2

1

1

1

1

2

1

Other Android powered tablet

6

6

7

6

2

6

5

7

5

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding

*indicates percentage is <.05%

TABLE 1d
DEVICES OWNED

Entertainment & Media – Generation, Gender & Children in HH

“Which of the following do you currently own? Please select all that apply.”
Base: U.S. adults

 

April 2013

Generation

Gender

Children <18 in HH

Echo Boomers

(18-35)

Gen X (36-47)

Baby Boomers (48-66)

Matures (67+)

Male

Female

Yes

No

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

TV [NET]

77

66

78

82

82

79

75

71

79

HDTV [NET]

60

53

65

61

64

64

56

58

61

HDTV w/out built-in Internet capabilities

49

45

52

50

52

53

46

48

50

HDTV w/ built-in Internet capabilities (Smart TV)

16

16

18

16

16

19

13

19

15

Standard definition TV

36

28

38

39

44

36

36

33

37

Digital camera [NET]

64

58

65

71

62

67

62

64

65

Digital camera – point & shoot

56

51

56

61

52

57

55

55

56

Digital camera – SLR

17

17

18

16

15

21

13

20

16

DVD/Blu-ray Player [NET]

55

50

62

58

44

56

53

58

53

Standalone DVD player (not including other devices that can also play DVD’s)

47

43

54

49

40

48

46

50

46

Standalone Blu-ray player (not including other devices that can also play Blu-ray disks)

22

23

29

21

12

25

19

26

20

Home video game console [NET]

40

62

53

28

9

42

39

69

30

Nintendo Wii / Wii U

26

37

37

18

8

26

25

47

18

Xbox 360

17

31

24

9

1

17

18

33

12

Sony PlayStation 3

15

32

17

7

1

18

13

26

12

TV Devices [NET]

35

32

41

37

29

38

32

41

33

Digital Video Recorder or DVR (TiVo, etc.)

32

28

37

35

28

35

29

36

31

Set-top streaming media box (Roku, Apple TV, etc.)

6

7

10

5

2

7

5

10

5

E-reader [NET]

17

17

18

17

18

15

19

19

17

Amazon Kindle e-reader that is not a tablet computer

12

10

12

13

13

10

14

12

12

Barnes & Noble Nook e-reader

5

8

5

4

4

5

6

8

4

Other e-reader

1

1

3

1

1

2

1

2

1

Handheld video game console [NET]

15

25

21

7

2

15

15

29

10

Nintendo DS/3DS

12

18

20

5

2

11

12

24

7

Sony PSP or PS Vita

6

12

6

3

*

7

5

10

4

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding

*indicates percentage is <.05%

TABLE 1e
DEVICES OWNED

Computing & Mobile – by Mobile/Tablet Ownership

“Which of the following do you currently own? Please select all that apply.”
Base: U.S. adults

 

April 2013

Mobile Phone Ownership

Own a tablet

Any smartphone

iPhone

Android

Standard mobile phone only

None

Yes

No

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

Computer [NET]

95

95

94

95

98

92

96

94

Desktop computer [NET]

70

64

58

67

79

70

71

69
Desktop computer (Windows based)

62

57

52

60

72

57

62

61

Desktop computer (Apple based)

7

7

10

6

7

6

9

6

Desktop computer (other)

5

3

2

4

3

9

6

4

Laptop computer [NET]

66

76

80

74

59

51

78

60

Laptop computer (Windows based)

56

64

61

66

54

41

65

52

Laptop computer (Apple based)

9

12

19

5

5

6

14

6

Laptop computer (other)

5

6

7

7

3

7

8

4

Mobile Phone [NET]

79

na

na

na

na

na

91

74

Smartphone [NET]

49

na

na

na

na

na

70

39

Android powered smartphone

26

na na na na na

35

21

iPhone

22

na na na na na

37

16

Blackberry

4

na na na na na

6

3

Windows mobile powered smartphone

3

na na na na na

3

2

Standard mobile phone (i.e. a phone mainly for calls and/or texting; not a smartphone)

35

na na na na na

27

39

Tablet [NET]

33

47

53

44

22

14

na

na

iPad

16

26

40

18

7

4

na na
Amazon Kindle Fire series tablet

9

11

10

12

8

7

na na
Samsung Galaxy series tablet

3

3

1

5

3

1

na na
iPad mini

2

2

3

1

1

1

na na
Google Nexus series tablet

2

3

2

3

*

1

na na
Windows powered tablet

1

2

1

2

1

*

na na
Other Android powered tablet

6

8

4

12

5

2

na na

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding

*indicates percentage is <.05%

-indicates percentage is 0%

TABLE 1f
DEVICES OWNED

Entertainment & Media – by Mobile/Tablet Ownership

“Which of the following do you currently own? Please select all that apply.”
Base: U.S. adults

 

April 2013

Mobile Phone Ownership

Own a tablet

Any smartphone

iPhone

Android

Standard mobile phone only

None

Yes

No

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

TV [NET]

77

79

73

84

84

61

82

74

HDTV [NET]

60

67

66

70

58

46

71

55

HDTV w/out built-in Internet capabilities

49

55

53

57

50

34

57

45

HDTV w/ built-in Internet capabilities (Smart TV)

16

21

25

20

11

13

23

13

Standard definition TV

36

33

28

38

47

29

34

37

 

Digital camera [NET]

64

68

68

68

70

48

75

59

Digital camera – point & shoot

56

58

59

59

62

42

67

50

Digital camera – SLR

17

22

25

20

13

8

22

14

DVD/Blu-ray Player [NET]

55

60

58

62

61

32

62

51

Standalone DVD player (not including other devices that can also play DVD’s)

47

48

46

52

58

28

51

45

Standalone Blu-ray player (not including other devices that can also play Blu-ray disks)

22

29

28

31

16

11

32

17

Home video game console [NET]

40

55

58

59

28

24

55

33

Nintendo Wii / Wii U

26

35

41

35

17

17

38

20

Xbox 360

17

26

25

29

10

9

25

14

Sony PlayStation 3

15

22

25

24

8

10

21

13

TV Devices [NET]

35

42

40

47

37

15

48

29

Digital Video Recorder or DVR (TiVo, etc.)

32

39

37

42

34

14

42

27

Set-top streaming media box (Roku, Apple TV, etc.)

6

9

10

10

3

2

13

3

E-reader [NET]

17

21

21

21

17

10

23

14

Amazon Kindle e-reader that is not a tablet computer

12

14

14

15

11

7

17

9

Barnes & Noble Nook e-reader

5

7

8

6

5

4

5

6

Other e-reader

1

1

*

2

2

1

3

*

Handheld video game console [NET]

15

21

26

19

9

9

23

11

Nintendo DS/3DS

12

16

21

13

6

9

18

9

Sony PSP or PS Vita

6

8

8

9

4

2

7

5

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding

*indicates percentage is <.05%

-indicates percentage is 0%

TABLE 2
XBOX 360 SPECIFICS – by Trend & Gender

“You indicated owning an Xbox 360. Which of the following describes how you have it set up?”
Base: Own an Xbox 360

 

Jan.

2013

April 2013

Gender

Male

Female

%

%

%

%

It is connected to the Internet

59

65

71

60

I have an Xbox Live Gold subscription

38

45

49

41

I own an Xbox Kinect

41

43

32

53

None of these

15

17

20

15

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding

TABLE 3
PLAYSTATION 3 SPECIFICS – by Trend & Gender

“You indicated owning a PlayStation 3. Which of the following describes how you have it set up?”
Base: Own a PlayStation 3

 

Jan.

2013

April 2013

Gender

Male

Female

%

%

%

%

It is connected to the Internet

80

79

82

76

I own PlayStation Move motion control accessories

20

25

28

22

I have a PlayStation Plus subscription

20

16

21

10

None of these

15

12

12

11

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding

TABLE 4
BLU-RAY PLAYER SPECIFICS – by Trend & Gender

“You indicated owning a Blu-ray player. Is it connected to the Internet?”
Base: Own a Blu-ray player

 

Jan.

2013

April 2013

Gender

Male

Female

%

%

%

%

Yes

45

48

53

41

No

53

48

44

52

Not at all sure

2

4

3

7

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding

TABLE 5a
TV SERVICES SUBSCRIBE TO – by Trend, Generation, Gender & Children in HH

“Which of the following services do you subscribe to?”
Base: U.S. adults

 

Jan.

2013

April 2013

Generation

Gender

Children <18 in HH

Echo Boomers

(18-35)

Gen X (36-47)

Baby Boomers (48-66)

Matures (67+)

Male

Female

Yes

No

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

TV service NET

75

75

63

73

83

85

78

73

71

77

Cable TV service

53

51

47

48

54

57

54

48

46

53

Satellite TV service

23

25

17

25

30

31

24

26

25

25

Netflix NET

29

28

43

33

19

12

29

28

43

23

Netflix – streaming service

24

24

39

28

16

7

24

24

41

18

Netflix – DVD delivery service

12

9

11

13

7

7

10

9

9

10

Amazon Prime

10

11

17

12

8

6

10

12

14

10

Hulu Plus

5

5

11

7

1

*

5

5

8

4

None of these

14

14

16

16

13

10

12

16

12

15

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding

*indicates percentage is <.05%

TABLE 5b
TV SERVICES SUBSCRIBE TO – by Subscriptions, Tablet Ownership & Computer Type

“Which of the following services do you subscribe to?”
Base: U.S. adults

 

April 2013

Services Subscribe To

Own a Tablet

Type of Computer Owned

Streaming services [NET]

Cable/ Satellite [NET]

Yes

No

Laptop [NET]

Desktop [NET]

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

TV service NET

75

70

100

80

73

75

80

Cable TV service

51

48

68

57

48

50

54

Satellite TV service

25

21

34

24

26

26

27

Netflix NET

28

78

25

38

23

33

26

Netflix – streaming service

24

76

21

34

19

29

22

Netflix – DVD delivery service

9

18

9

11

8

11

9

Amazon Prime

11

35

12

22

6

14

11

Hulu Plus

5

17

4

7

4

6

5

None of these

14

9

17

13

12

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding

*indicates percentage is <.05%

-indicates percentage is 0%