Irish Tablet Sales Soar

SALES OF TABLET computers are soaring in Ireland, according to research figures studied by Adrian Weckler. [1] we have two tablets in our home.

Laptop sales in 2012 fell by 12% in Ireland, according to figures from GfK. People are buying tablets instead with one in five Irish adults now owning something like our Motorola Xoom or Apple iPad. If our experience is typical, those buying a tablet won't get more than three years of use from a tablet before its operating system fails to update. When that happens, you are stuck with versions of apps that will look older and operate with less capability than their updated versions. This end-of-life limitation happens more comprehensively than with a computer of the same age.

We bucked national trends by giving the grandparents a film camera and traditional photo box. They were delighted to get something that will eliminate motion blur from their snapshots. And they appreciate the ease of getting prints from their local chemist.

Meanwhile, overall sales of digital cameras in the Irish market have fallen 18% in value and by 21% in the number of units sold. People tend to use their smartphones to take photos today. Recent figures from Amarach Consulting show almost two thirds of Irish adults now own smartphones. I don't think Amarach tracked the number of working handsets their respondents have. In my case, I carry four working and unlocked smartphones in my bag representing four different operating systems. I work with several people who use two or three screens throughout the business day to monitor conversations, trends and streams of information.

If you need to work quickly when trends emerge, you shouldn't hide the Analytics behind a browser tab or inside an email marked as "important". The truly important stuff needs to grab your attention by landing front and centre on a screen where you can quickly act on it.

(Props to @adrianweckler for his continued excellence in business journalism. Photo of our Xoom and Moleskine work table.)

1. Adrian Weckler -- "Tablet sales soar as laptops slump" in The Sunday Business Post, January 6, 2013.