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Topic: Tablets

Staples: 1 in 3 people use tablets while in the bathroom

Summary: Tablets have become popular largely because they're ultra-portable devices. So portable, in fact, that owners really are bringing them just about everywhere you can imagine.

Rachel King

By for Between the Lines |

Tablets are rising in popularity among consumers for their ability to "bridge the worlds of both home and office," according to a new survey from Staples Advantage.

Certainly, notebook computers have been around for awhile to fulfill these needs, but the lightness and thinness of tablets really amps things up a few notches when it comes to mobility. In fact, Staples found that portability was the top motivator for buying at tablet.

Easy mobility could be a good or bad thing depending on how you want to look at it. For example, Staples reported that more than 60 percent of tablet owners used their tablets during vacation to check in with the office and/or do work. If you have a big project going on and want to check in from time to time, perhaps that's a good thing. But it also makes it much harder for someone to disconnect and have an actual vacation.

But consumers are bringing tablets where many other gadgets might not have gone before. It's not terribly surprising that 78 percent of consumers bring tablets to bed and another 30 percent to a restaurant. Certainly many people are already doing the same things with their laptops.

But at least 35 percent of survey respondents admitted to bringing their tablets to the bathroom. Well, then perhaps digital publishing really is replacing newspapers and magazines once and for all.

However, there are a few points that owners need to be wary about when toting their tablets around, primarily security. Mobile malware is on the rise, and Staples found that "less than 15 percent of those surveyed have installed encryption or anti-virus software on their tablets."

Additionally, there's always the possibility of losing information or the device altogether. Although it shouldn't be difficult to sync a tablet with a desktop or laptop computer and there is more readily-available access to cloud computing, at least two-thirds of tablet owners don't regularly back up data from their devices.

Related:

Topics: Tablets, Hardware, Laptops, Mobility

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12 comments
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  • RE: Staples: 1 in 3 people use tablets while in the bathroom

    That's why wireless networking was invented.
    txscott
    Reply Vote

  • RE: Staples: 1 in 3 people use tablets while in the bathroom

    And how do these numbers compare to laptop/netbooks? I know plenty of people that use their laptop in bed (myself included), and even quite a bit that use them in the bathroom as well, just how like there are a ton that use their phones in these places as well. It's not really the medium that's important, it's the mobility.
    Aerowind
    Reply Vote

    • Ok, now you tell another one

      I have a quad-core Windows 7 machine in my bathroom, which saves me from being trapped by Apple's walled garden, and from having to use iTunes. I don't see why anyone would want a tablet when they could be typing on a full-fledged computer. I mean, if you're going to be sitting down anyway, you may as well write spreadsheet macros.
      Robert Hahn
      Reply Vote

    • RE: Staples: 1 in 3 people use tablets while in the bathroom

      @Aerowind

      A laptop in the bathroom? That sounds very strange.
      LP212
      Reply Vote

    • RE: Staples: 1 in 3 people use tablets while in the bathroom

      @Robert Hahn Oh that evil walled garden.
      IAmMarty
      Reply Vote

  • RE: Staples: 1 in 3 people use tablets while in the bathroom

    Oh so people found the proper place for a tablet. It seems a bit big to take in there, at least with a cell phone you can put it back in your pocket when your done taking care of business.
    LoverockDavidson_-24231404894599612871915491754222
    Reply Vote

  • RE: Staples: 1 in 3 people use tablets while in the bathroom

    I used my new TouchPad in the can this morning, lol.
    LP212
    Reply Vote

  • 1 in 3 people have tablets???

    Wow, and I thought the economy was in trouble.
    phronk
    Reply Vote

  • Are they using an iMirror app of something?

    ;)
    William Farrell
    Reply Vote

  • Steve Job$ now might have a new idea

    Patent for an ergonomic arm for your arse wiping running only on its iCrap device.
    The Linux Geek
    Reply Vote

  • RE: Staples: 1 in 3 people use tablets while in the bathroom

    As alluded to in this blog post, one of the great things about tablets is they provide almost as much portability as a smartphone, but at the same time more fully enable enterprise-level computing. This is great for productivity, but also introduces security challenges that go even beyond those posed by smartphones. As a Symantec employee, it's probably no surprise that security is usually top of mind for me, so I appreciated the paragraphs on security at the end of this post. It's important to keep in mind, though, that mobile device security best practices go beyond just encryption and AV software. Here are a few additional mobile security best practices that come to my mind:

    - As important as it is to keep security software on devices and up-to-date, keeping the rest of the software on mobile devices updated cannot be ignored, either. Software vulnerabilities are a common method used by attackers to gain access to devices. The sophisticated operating systems used on modern mobile devices are no exception. In fact, Symantec documented 163 vulnerabilities in mobile operating systems in 2010. Keeping software updated with the latest releases from device and app vendors can go a long way in preventing attackers from leveraging security flaws in the code.

    - Be aware of your surroundings when accessing sensitive information. Whether entering passwords or viewing sensitive or confidential data, being cautious of who might be looking over your shoulder might seem a bit paranoid, but it?s surprising the lengths some enterprising criminals will go to.

    - In the case of a loss or theft of a mobile device, know what to do next. Processes to deactivate the device and protect its information from intrusion should all be in place within your organization. Many of the better mobile security and management products on the market provide capabilities to remotely locate, lock and wipe devices.

    - Using strong passwords and changing them frequently will help protect the data stored in the phone if a device is lost or hacked.

    - Just like with PCs, these mobile devices can be susceptible to attacks sent via email or text message (in the case of smartphones). So, you should avoid opening unexpected emails and text messages from unknown senders. The same caution should be applied to opening unsolicited emails and texts on these devices that we have become accustomed to when it comes to PCs.

    Spencer Parkinson
    Symantec
    spencerparkinson
    Reply Vote

  • RE: Staples: 1 in 3 people use tablets while in the bathroom

    Also to note:

    out of those 1 out of 3... 7 out of 8 iPad users look at a picture of Steve Jobs while in the bathroom
    UrNotPayingAttention
    Reply Vote
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