Are Tablets The New Household PC of Record?

[](https://s3.amazonaws.com/movableink-blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/21230257/Surface-Pro-3-Launch.jpg)On the subway ride into work this morning, I [read](http://www.forbes.com/sites/parmyolson/2014/05/20/microsoft-takes-on-the-macbook-air-with-new-surface-pro-3-tablet/) about Microsoft’s unveiling of its latest tablet, the Surface Pro 3. What caught my attention most was the revelation that Microsoft execs aren’t positioning the device as an alternative to Apple’s iPad, but rather, against its most popular laptop, the MacBook Air.The timing of Microsoft’s product launch couldn’t be better: with our upcoming webinar on “The Mobile Takeover,” our team has been poring over the underlying numbers from our latest US Consumer Device Preference Report), and the data suggests that tablets are, indeed, becoming the new go-to household PC of record.How so?First, because over the last year, smartphone email opens have been relatively stable at slightly under 50%, while desktop opens have steadily declined, and tablet opens have steadily risen. You can easily see these trends in the chart below:[](https://s3.amazonaws.com/movableink-blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/21230257/Slide1.jpg)Second, from a day-parting perspective, we’re seeing that tablet email opens peak in the evening hours, when people get home from work (and when they’d be more likely to do their web browsing on a luxurious large screen instead of their smartphone’s small screen). And, in fact, tablet and desktop opens are currently nearly even between 8 and 11pm.[](https://s3.amazonaws.com/movableink-blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/21230257/Slide11.jpg)From an email opens market share perspective, look for tablets to continue making the largest percentage gains quarter over quarter. There is still a lot of room left for tablets to grow.Desktops and laptops may never completely disappear from the face of our planet, but tablets may someday soon replace them entirely from our living rooms.