Consumers prefer laptops, smartphones to tablets for accessing internet: Study

Survey conducted by Deloitte says significant portion of traffic from mobile devices has moved to Wi-Fi connections

Laptops and smartphones are preferred over tablet PCs when it comes to access the Internet, a survey by global consultancy firm Deloitte has said.

"69% of the respondents say that they use laptops to access Internet, while 64% use their smartphones. Interestingly, only 24% use tablets to access the Net," an online survey conducted by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited said.

The survey was conducted among 2,000 consumers in cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Pune and Ahmedabad.

"About 60% of smartphone users say they use the mobile network for data access. As for laptop users, about 80% of them access the Internet through fixed broadband, the survey added.

The survey said despite availability of data plans providing Internet access to mobile users, a significant portion of traffic from mobile devices has moved to Wi-Fi connections.

However, mobile network remains the key connectivity channel for smartphones users, it said.

Deloitte said data is one of the main reasons for a 'bill shock' among consumers.

"More than 60% of the respondents say that there have been times when their bills have been higher than what they expected over the past 12 months," it said.

Data is followed by roaming charges for a bill shock among 46% respondents, while 33% respondents say it is due to exceeding call allowances and 32% said its because of exceeding their mobile Internet usage allowance.

"Deloitte sees that reduction in roaming charges lately will further tilt the trend towards data. Competition and a saturated mobile voice market has forced operators to offer very competitive capped data packages, which has led to affordability of data plans," it added.

For purchasing a smartphone, battery life remains the top influencing factor in consumers' mind, followed by design, reliability, brand, operating system and camera quality.

As for tablets, brand is the most important factor, followed by reliability of the device, operating system, battery life and design.