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Few Consumers Interested in Tablet PCs

Only 11% of global online consumers currently own or have interest in tablet PCs, although the Middle East shows far greater interest, according to a new study from The Nielsen Company.

MEAP Interest Almost Double Global Average
“How We Watch” indicates that regionally, the Middle East, Africa and Pakistan (MEAP) area has a substantially greater interest/ownership rate for tablet PCs than the worldwide average. MEAP scores 182 on the Index of Ownership + Definite Purchase Intent for Tablet PC by Region, meaning online consumers there have an interest level 82 percentage points higher than that of worldwide online consumers as a whole.

Latin America scores 109 on the index, showing slightly higher than average interest in tablet PCs. Asia-Pacific and Europe both come in slightly below average with scores of 91 each, while North America lags considerably with an index score of only 73.

Top 3 Nations from MEAP
As would be expected, the individual nations with the three highest Index of Ownership + Definite Purchase Intent for Tablet PC by Market scores are all located in the MEAP region. Pakistan leads with a score of 209, followed by Saudi Arabia (200) and Egypt (191).

Somewhat surprisingly, an Asia-Pacific nation, Taiwan, ties Egypt for third place on the index. Venezuela, a Latin American nation, follows with a much lower score of 173. Interestingly, two European countries, Italy and Germany, tie with the Asia-Pacific nation of India for the next spot with scores of 155.

The US has an index score of 82, while its northern neighbor Canada significantly drags down the overall North American regional index score with a market index score of 55. Two European nations, Finland and Hungary, tie for last place with anemic index scores of 27.

Latin America, MEAP also Have Most Interest in Internet TV
Other data from “How We Watch” indicates that with stand-alone boxes and broadband-ready TVs making it possible to access Web content via TV, interest in internet TV is fairly consistent across demographics but varies somewhat by region. Latin America has the highest average interest in internet TV, with a score of 136 on the Index of Ownership and Definite Purchase Intent for TV with Internet Connection. The MEAP region closely follows with an index score of 132.