First Impressions: iPad user survey results

May 21, 2010 by Dan Taylor    11 Comments    Posted under: Technology

Apple’s iPad has clearly struck a chord with both hardcore desktop owners, mobile laptop owners for life, and even a few previous netbook owners. Early reports indicated that the market demand for the iPad was far greater than that of the iPhone, ultimately leading to Apple selling their millionth iPad within the first month. Now that iPad users have had some time to get familiar with their shiny new toy, what have they got to say about it?

ChangeWave Research recently completed two new surveys, one associated with the above mentioned iPad desire, and the second, a user’s ‘first impressions’ survey. The first impressions survey polled 153 new iPad owners asking them questions regarding overall satisfaction, likes and dislikes, and how they’re using it.

Overall Satisfaction

Well it seems as though Cupertino has hit this one out of the park. 74 percent of all new iPad owners are “Very Satisfied” with their device. They believe that the iPad is delivering in it’s promise, with only 1 percent indicated in the “Somewhat Satisfied” and “Somewhat Unsatisfied” categories. 8 percent of those surveyed responded with “Don’t Know/NA”, which leaves “Somewhat Satisfied” garnering 17 percent of the vote.

Oddly enough, when ChangeWave conducted the (approximately) same survey surrounding the iPhone launch, the numbers were practically identical.

Likes/Dislikes

Again, it looks like Apple has nailed the form factor with the iPad, as 21 percent of survey participants indicated that the Screen Size and Quality was their favorite aspect of the iPad. Ease of Use took second spot with 15 percent, Size and Weight third, with 12 percent, and Portability scoring dead last with 10 percent of the vote.

Some owner responses include:

• “Large bright screen and easy, familiar iPhone interface.”
• “The user experience is like nothing I have ever experienced on a computer.”
• “…a social device and highly portable. We keep it in our living room and family room – and people just pick it up to surf the web, trade info, look at photos, etc.”

On the other side of the coin, yes, even the (seemingly) almighty iPad does have some drawbacks. 11 percent of owners are displeased with the lack of Adobe Flash. 9 percent are concerned about Keeping the Screen Clean/Poor Visibility, with the same percentage reporting their dislike primarily due to internet connectivity issues. Rounding out the do-not-wants are Lack of Apps and Too Heavy, both carrying 7 percent of the vote.

While these dislikes are certainly to be taken into consideration, the ChangeWave survey did not find any “Smoking Gun”, i.e. a repeated dislike that would cause concern.

Wha’chu doing?

Obviously, this section is bound to produce the widest variety of responses. To combat this, ChangeWave presented those surveyed with 16 possible iPad uses, and asked them to choose up to 5 uses in decreasing frequency.

As expected, Surfing the Internet takes the top spot, with 83 percent indicating it as their top choice. And what goes well with internet surfing? Checking the emails, of course. 71 percent of iPad owners indicated this as their top activity. From here, specific usage begins to vary, with using Apps from the Apple App Store scored 56 percent and watching videos 48 percent.

Reading

Now here’s where things get rather interesting. 33 percent of iPad owners chose “Reading eBooks,” and 28 percent “Reading Magazines/Newspapers/Periodicals”. Now, when’s the last time you saw two analogue (rooted) forms of entertainment show up that highly on a digital media survey? For all the talk of newspapers and books going the way of the dinosaur, Random House and The New York Times really ought to send Apple a thank you note. When compared to pre-iPad launch, readership of Newspapers and Magazines in the eReader format has jumped leaps and bounds.

The full ChangeWave iPad report contains a host of other insights including:

• Key iPad Features Likely Buyers are Most Excited About
• Timeframe for Future Consumer Purchases
• New Owner Likes and Dislikes
• How Owners are Using their iPads – Including 8 Most Common Uses
• Features Still Missing from the iPad
• Potential for iPad Cannibalizing Other Apple Products
• Impact of Apple iPad on the eReader Market
• Types of Content Being Consumed on e-Readers
• A Comparison: Apple iPad Owner Content Consumption vs. All Other e-Reader Owners
• e-Reader Market Demand Going Forward
• Future e-Reader Market Share – Apple iPad vs. Amazon Kindle vs. Sony Reader vs. Barnes & Noble Nook