A defining statistic from the 1980s was the UK average of 2.4 children per household. This figure may have dropped in recent years but will the new measure of our times be 2.7 gadgets per UK consumer?
Despite the homogenisation of mobile technology, the average global consumer still carries multiple gadgets around with them on a regular basis, says a new report.
The survey was conducted by security specialist Sophos.com, which asked more than 2,200 people around the world about the gadgets they carry with them on a regular basis. The devices ranged from laptops to mobiles, tablets, MP3 players and eReaders. Germans carried the most devices, with an average of 3.1. They were also the most likely to carry a laptop.
Conversely, the British carried an average of 2.7 devices and preferred a smartphone to a laptop. Globally, the smartphone was by far the most popular ‘must-have-at-all-times’ gadget, with 85 per cent of respondents saying that it was number one on their list.
The least popular device was the eReader, with only 29 per cent of respondents saying that they could not leave home without it.
Google’s Android Operating System was the most popular phone OS, beating iOS by a minuscule 0.4 per cent. While Android got 40.9 per cent of the smartphone share, Apple got 40.5 and at the opposite end of the spectrum, Windows got a rather dismal 3.4 per cent.
The survey found that Apple users tended to stick within the brand. 62 per cent of MacBook users also used an iPhone, while 45 per cent used an iPad too. Windows and Linux users tended to opt for the Android OS, with 44 per cent and 56 per cent respectively opting for Google’s open source OS.
The survey was inspired by an article on gizmodo.com, which went through the gadgets in Apple co-founder, Steve Wozniak’s suitcase. One of the survey respondents admitted to carrying 12 gadgets at any one time.
While technology providers are doing their very best to provide an all-singing, all-dancing device, the results seem to demonstrate that most users are still happiest carrying multiple devices that do their specific job well.
