Tablet Over Laptop Say Travelers

Today’s business travelers are armed with three or four mobile devices to help them stay connected to the office (and home). They are more inclined to carry a tablet than a laptop.

These are among the results of a hotel business and technology study commissioned by Four Points by Sheraton, a Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. brand. The survey polled a total of 6,000 business travelers globally, 1,000 each from the United States, the United Kingdom, China, India, Germany and Brazil.
 
Key Findings
The majority (55%) of respondents bring three or four devices with them on the road. This is true across all nationalities. Brazilian respondents were more likely than others to juggle five or more devices while traveling (27%), while Germans were the least device-dependent, with 33% reporting they travel with only one or two.
 
65% Bring Tablets
What three or four devices are respondents likely to bring? Smartphones are tops (74%), followed by tablets (65%), music players (43%) and laptops (32%). Chinese respondents were the only group to bump laptops out of the top four, in favor of cameras (30%).
 
After landing, the majority (54%) turn on their smartphone while the plane is still taxiing on the tarmac, while 12% never turn it off in the first place. The remaining 17% wait until they’re in the terminal or settle into their taxi/car.

Tablets Beat Laptops
Nearly 7 in 10 respondents (68%) use their tablet more often than their laptop, and accordingly a similar number (69%), if told they could take only one of the two on the road, would choose to travel with their tablet.

For most respondents, the primary purpose of traveling with mobile devices is to keep up with email on the road (90%). This is followed by internet browsing and social networking (75%), and maintaining communication with the office (73%).

More than 60% of total respondents believe that traveling with technology makes their lives significantly easier and more convenient. However, the majority of German respondents report their lives are only somewhat eased by technology (53%), and 14% of Germans believe it makes life harder.