The rise of the tablet

By David Sargeant, commercial director at Zukido

So tablets are here to stay. First it was the iPad and now the copycats are flooding the market with more than 63 million tablets set to be sold this year.

The market thought netbooks were going to steal the casual-browsing market but it is tablets that have captured this space. As a result, tablets are undermining laptop and notebook sales with tablets set to be as much as 17 per cent of the PC market in 2011, and up to 60 per cent by 2015.

Smart mobile is suited to skimming data as users are on the move. This is defined as short bursts of data browsing, between one and eight minutes, as users consume "data bites". Laptop and desktop provides users with an extended "deep dive" into data.

Tablets give users a new way of interacting that mobile and traditional desktop/laptop web doesn't. Tablets have the mobile functionality of the smart mobile channel, while the screen size, power and functionality of laptop, albeit with touch screen. Tablet sits in between mobile laptop in a hybrid model as users both "deep dive" and "data skim".

This hybrid functionality gives new opportunities to content providers. If users are presented with targeted content as many content providers are finding out. However gaming operators are not currently utilising this new channel to its potential and that is a waste, especially as the tablet users sit exactly in the high income bracket.

Tablet users visiting gaming sites are currently presented with either an expanded mobile channel, or a squeezed in web experience. This cannot remain.

Tablet users expect a large screen experience, should be presented with tailored content and specialised touch screen functionality including streaming, targetted live betting, and the sports and gaming cross sell with embedded games.

I am biaised in my views as this is how Zukido is positioning itself with its tablet products, but I expect to see the first generation of tablet specific gaming content coming soon from many providers. Fudging the tablet channel will no longer be acceptable.

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Meet the Contributors

David Snook, a partner of InterGame Ltd., has been in the games and gaming industry since 1967. He was Editor of Coin Slot for 26 years and Joint Managing Director of The World's Fair, Coin Slot's parent company. He co-founded InterGame in 1994 and regularly writes for all InterGame’s publications.
Mark McGuinness has more than 12 years’ experience in marketing director roles with both private and public i-gaming operators. Managing director of Isle of Man-based eMainstream Marketing, a digital agency offering business and marketing advice on social gaming, i-gaming and land-based gambling, he also serves as social and community director of the Sports Betting Community Network.
Adrian Drewitz is international sales manager for leading US-based manufacturer Bay-Tek Games. While he only joined the company five years ago, during this time he has built up strong relationships with key operators around the world and has gained in-depth invaluable knowledge on the leisure and amusement industry.