Credit: C. Regina on Flickr. Some rights reserved.
Smartphone and tablet devices are increasing the amount of news people consume, according to a new study, with one third of adults accessing news on a mobile at least once a week and nearly two thirds of tablet owners using the device for news.
The a US study by the Pew Research Center has found that smartphone and tablet ownership is up in the US, with nearly a quarter of people owning a tablet (22 per cent) and a similar number (23 per cent) expecting to get a device.
According to figures shared by Enders Analysis at last week's Mobile Media Strategies conference, around 15 per cent of people in the UK currently own a tablet.
The Pew study states that "there is growing evidence that mobile devices are adding to how much news people get" and shows how publishers are attracting new audiences.
"As many as 43 per cent say the news they get on their tablets is adding to their overall news consumption. And almost a third, 31 per cent, said they get news from new sources on their tablet.
"The increases in news activity is heaviest among those who use all four of the major text-based media for news-computers, smartphones, tablets and print. And when people are asked to recall time spent, the evidence suggests multi-device users spend as much time on each platform as other news users-not substituting one for another.
There has been a marked shift in the type of tablets that are popular in the US. "The advent of the new lower-priced tablets in late 2011 brought in a new crop of tablet owners," the findings state.
"Now, just over half, 52 per cent, of tablet owners report owning an iPad, compared with 81 per cent a year ago. Nearly half, 48 per cent, now own an Android-based device; about half of them, 21 per cent, Kindle Fires.
"iPad owners, however, stand out from Android owners: they use their tablet more often in general and more often for news. Android users are more likely to use social networks and follow news that comes from friends and family."
Figures shared by Enders Analysis show the iPad is still dominant in the UK, with Android devices currently standing at around 10 per cent of the UK tablet market. Benedict Evans from Enders Analysis last week said that the spread of tablets could change here, especially with the release of lower-priced tablets.
The US study also shows that most people access news via a browser rather than apps, as "consumers have yet to embrace certain features that mobile devices offer".
"Fully 60 per cent of tablet news users mainly use the browser to get news on their tablet, just 23 per cent get news mostly through apps and 16 per cent use both equally."
The report adds: "While mobile technology allows people to get news anywhere, and any time, most people get news on these devices when they are at home-and roughly half of mobile news users get news on their device just once a day. Similarly, the use of news apps on mobile devices, which many publishers hoped would be a way to charge for content, remains limited. Most people still use a browser for news on their tablet."
The annual study also looked at attitudes towards paid content. It states: "Perhaps most pressing for the industry, the survey shows continued resistance to paying for content on mobile devices. More mobile news users have print-only subscriptions than have digital ones. Just 24 per cent of them are considering exchanging their print subscription for a digital one (though these tend to be younger subscribers, which suggests their numbers will grow)."
The full Pew report is at this link.
Free daily newsletter
If you like our news and feature articles, you can sign up to receive our free daily (Mon-Fri) email newsletter (mobile friendly).
