Cutting Edge Technologies Supplementing -- Rather than Displacing -- Older Tech, At Least For Now

NEW YORK, June 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The technological world moves incredibly fast, with cutting edge trends sometimes getting pushed to the edge of the information and entertainment superhighway almost before the digital ink of their announcements has dried. Netbooks, for example, seemed to be the next big thing for a short time until falling victim to their own limited capabilities. E-readers have faced speculation that they may follow a similar trend, though the jury is still out on this category, with 17% of U.S. adults owning one.

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In fact, adopters of new technology appear reluctant to let go of the old, with those owning key tech items in many cases over-indexing (when compared to the general U.S. adult population) on ownership for some of the very pieces of less cutting edge technology these devices threaten to replace.

These are some of the results of The Harris Poll of 2,345 adults surveyed online between April 10 and 15, 2013 by Harris Interactive as part of a quarterly "Tech Tracker" intended to act as a barometer of technology ownership and interactions among U.S. adults; the tracking study began in January of 2013, though some results reference data collected in May and September of 2012. (Full findings and data tables available here)

Android and iPhone ownership up, but smartphones' impending replacement of digital cameras in question

Ownership of both Android powered smartphones (26%) and iPhones (22%) has risen considerably since May of last year (18% and 17%, respectively); Android ownership is also up slightly since January (23%), while iPhone ownership is comparable to its January level (21%).

There's been much talk of whether smartphones are reaching a point where they can replace stand-alone digital cameras, and reports of diminishing digital camera sales would appear to support this.  However, while these sales drops may or may not be attributable directly to smartphones, smartphone owners are at least as likely as the national average to currently own a point and shoot type digital camera (58%, vs. 56% of U.S. adults) and are nearly 30% more likely than the national average to own a digital SLR camera (22%, vs. 17% of U.S. adults).

Most streaming viewers still swimming with traditional TV providers as well

Another area where new tech appears to be acting more as an addition to the status quo than a replacement to it is streaming viewership.  Although those Americans subscribing to one or more streaming services (24% Netflix, 11% Amazon Prime, 5% Hulu Plus) are a bit less likely than the general population to subscribe to either a cable or satellite service (75% among U.S. adults, 70% among streaming subscribers), seven in ten are still embracing the traditional model of TV consumption.

Tablet owners – the ultimate tech consumers?

Although much has been written about the versatility of tablets and the many technologies they may eventually replace, for now tablet owners seem reluctant to let go of, well, pretty much anything with a battery and a microchip. In fact, tablet owners are more likely than non-owners to also own all kinds of technological goodies, including those that tablets are said to be in danger of replacing, such as laptop computers and e-reader devices:

• Mobile phone of any kind – 91% tablet owners, 74% non-owners
  • Smartphone – 70% tablet owners, 39% non-owners
• TV any kind – 82% tablet owners, 74% non-owners
  • HDTV – 71% tablet owners, 55% non-owners
• Laptop computer – 78% tablet owners, 60% non-owners
• Digital camera of any kind – 75% tablet owners, 59% non-owners
• Standalone DVD or Blu-ray player – 62% tablet owners, 51% non-owners
• Home video game console – 55% tablet owners, 33% non-owners
• Digital video recorder or DVR (TiVo, etc.) – 42% tablet owners, 27% non-owners
• E-reader – 23% tablet owners, 14% non-owners
• Handheld video game console – 23% tablet owners, 11% non-owners
• Set-top streaming media box (Roku, Apple TV, etc.) – 13% tablet owners, 3% non-owners

Perhaps not surprisingly given the entertainment possibilities tablets open up, tablet owners are also significantly more likely to subscribe to streaming services – nearly 80% more likely than non-owners to subscribe to Netflix's steaming service (34% tablet owners, 19% non-owners), over 40% more likely to subscribe to Hulu Plus (7% tablet owners, 4% non-owners) and over 250% more likely to subscribe to Amazon Prime (22% tablet owners, 6% non-owners).  But even so, they are also more likely than non-owners to subscribe to either cable or satellite TV services (80% tablet owners, 73% non-owners).

Tech trends continue to evolve, with nary a month going by without a major product launch of some kind.  As electronic gadgets and the ways we interact with them continue to evolve, The Harris Poll will be continuing to monitor what's happening now and what may be just over the horizon.

Methodology

This Harris Poll was conducted online within the United States between April 10 and 15, 2013 among 2,345 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words "margin of error" as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in the Harris Interactive panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

The results of this Harris Poll may not be used in advertising, marketing or promotion without the prior written permission of Harris Interactive.

Product and brand names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

The Harris Poll^® #35, June 12, 2013

By Larry Shannon-Missal, Harris Poll Research Manager

About Harris Interactive

Harris Interactive is one of the world's leading market research firms, leveraging research, technology, and business acumen to transform relevant insight into actionable foresight. Known widely for the Harris Poll® and for pioneering innovative research methodologies, Harris offers proprietary solutions in the areas of market and customer insight, corporate brand and reputation strategy, and marketing, advertising, public relations and communications research. Harris possesses expertise in a wide range of industries including health care, technology, public affairs, energy, telecommunications, financial services, insurance, media, retail, restaurant, and consumer package goods. Additionally, Harris has a portfolio of multi-client offerings that complement our custom solutions while maximizing our client's research investment. Serving clients in more than 196 countries and territories through our North American and European offices, Harris specializes in delivering research solutions that help us - and our clients—stay ahead of what's next. For more information, please visit www.harrisinteractive.com.

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SOURCE Harris Interactive