tablet

Get ready for the next cycle in computing, which Mary Meeker calls "wearables / drivables / flyables / scannables."

Well-regarded tech analyst Mary Meeker (a partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers) has released her always-anticipated Internet Trends report at the D11 conference (presented by The Wall Street Journal's D: All Things Digital in Rancho Palos Verdes, California).

She says consumers will soon adopt this "third cycle" technology (smartphones and tablets were the first two), driven by the need for "always on, constantly accessed" device usage: Her research reveals smartphone users reach to their phone about 150 times a day.

She offered an interestingly look at the shifting platform for Pandora usage. We know now over 75% of Pandora usage is on mobile devices. The KPCB report shows Pandora's "in-car/TV/applicance" usage (that is, non-desktop/smartphone/tablet), which is about 13% now, will likely surpass Pandora usage on PCs (about 21%) in the next two years (largely powered by Pandora car dashboard connections).

Interestingly, the growing adoption of tablet computing has been even more rapid than that of smartphones. The adoption of Apple's iPad is about three times that of the iPhone, Meeker reports, and shipments of tablets passed that of desktop/notebook PCs in the fourth quarter of last year. Apple is far and away the leader here (as opposed to the desktop/notebook segment).

You can see all the slides from Meeker's Internet Trends presentation here.

If the ad-buying community could only witness radio's achievements when it comes to mobile, certainly they'd embrace the medium much more enthusiastically. If they could only see, and interact with, the great apps for smartphones and tablets, perhaps they'd see and hear the magic that makes the vast majority of Americans tune in to radio on a daily (or at least weekly) basis.

Well, of course they can access all of this, as can anyone with a smartphone or tablet. Yet only 42% of ad professionals listened to radio during a recent one-day study, while 80% of consumers did so. And Fred Jacobs thinks this disparity could be at the root of radio getting short-changed on ad campaign buys. And, he suggests being proactive in making these ad guys aware of what radio's doing on mobile platforms.

"If the (radio) industry sits back and assumes they (ad buyers) will figure it out on their own, shame on us," writes Jacobs.

In his blog, he suggests the NAB give every key ad industry professional a tablet pre-loaded "with the very best mobile apps from some of America’s best and most diverse stations, shows, and personalities." Jacobs suggests twenty such radio apps (including Pandora, iHeartRadio, and broadcaster apps produced by Jacobs Media division jacAPPS) that show "radio belongs on the hottest devices of our time, and that the industry is leaning forward when it comes to embracing mobile."

Read Jacobs' blog here.

The Nexus 7 is the latest and greatest Android tablet and one brave soul has hacked it into his 2008 Dodge Ram dashboard. Android Community calls it "quite possibly the most amazing in-dash entertainment system" they've seen. The tablet can be removed from the dashboard, but while it's docked it can playback media right to the car's stereo.

Unfortunately, the Nexus 7 doesn't connect to the web on its own, so one would need to tether the device to a smartphone or mobile hotspot to stream web radio. But that's no different than the slick OEM options rolling out from Ford, GM, Toyota and other automakers.

Android Community has more coverage and a video walk-through of the hack right here.

The Interactive Advertising Bureau's Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence is touting their new study which shows nearly half of tablet users "engage with ads" more than weekly (and fully 25% of smartphone users do the same).

Then, when these users engage, 80% of smartphone users and 89% of tablet users will "take action."

Unsurprisingly, smartphone users seem to use the device for "on-the-go," quick-info purposes; while tablet users consider that device more of a entertainment and media hub [Note that online radio is a medium that could easily fit in either category!]

Anna Bager, VP/GM of IAB's Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence, commented, "The key for marketers is looking at how consumers use these devices in different ways, and tailoring brand messages and strategies accordingly." The IAB recently held its "IAB Mobile Marketplace: 'Make Sense of the New First Screen'" event in New York, where it released the study, called "Mobile’s Role in the Consumer’s Media Day." Download the complete report here.

IAB VP/Member Services Michael Theodore is confirmed to speak at our upcoming RAIN Summit Dallas, September 18.

Yesterday Google announced several new gadgets, including the Nexus Q -- a spherical device meant to act as a bridge between the music and video content on Android mobile devices and home entertainment systems. The device "may be the last stereo appliance you buy for your home entertainment system," writes Lifehacker (here). But web radio listeners may "find the Q wanting."

Basically, users can stream music and video wirelessly from Android devices to speakers and TVs via the Nexus Q. Google calls is "the first social streaming player," offering an example use where friends hanging out together can build a collaborative playlist wirelessly from their separate Android devices.

Additionally, a single Android device can control multiple Nexus Qs, "turning it into a multi-room solution," notes the Verge (here). That would put it in direct competition with other home entertainment systems like Sonos, not to mention Apple's own AirPlay service (RAIN coverage here). However, the Nexus Q is currently rather crippled. 

"Unfortunately the device appears to be limited to Google Play media at the moment [meaning only content from Play Music, Play Movies, etc.] so fans of Netflix, Hulu, and Spotify" -- not to mention Pandora, iHeartRadio and other web radio apps -- "may find the Q wanting." That said, it's not unreasonable to expect that limitation will be removed in the future.

(Though Evolver.fm notes that the Nexus Q does sport Bluetooth. "This should mean that you’ll be able to beam music from any app on any smartphone," writes Eliot Van Buskirk, here.)

Additionally, the Nexus Q costs $300 (it's notably built in the U.S.). That makes it a pretty pricey device when compared to competing devices like the $99 Apple TV and $180 Boxee Box.

Though "a handsome piece of gear," writes the Verge (here), "the Q seems to be nothing more than — if you'll excuse the comparison — a hobby rather than a device that brings innovative functionality."

Google also revealed its own 7" Android tablet yesterday -- the Nexus 7 (pictured right). Google stressed the device's media consumption abilities: Movies, books, apps, games and music. The Nexus 7 will cost $200 and should only help put tablets in more consumers' hands.

The Verge has more coverage of the Nexus 7 here and you can find more out the Nexus Q from Ars Technica here and the New York Times here.

Research from the Online Publishers Association shows 75 million U.S. Internet users -- 31% -- now own a tablet device. That's up from 12% last year, and is expected to hit 47% (117 million in the U.S.) in 2013.

This news comes as Microsoft yesterday unveiled the Surface, a Windows 8 PC tablet with a cover that flips down to become a full keyboard. Initial 32- and 64-gigabyte "Windows RT" OS versions should be available in fall. The full Windows 8 version will be available three months later in 64- and 128-GB versions. Microsoft says they'll likely be priced "in the same zone as ultrabooks, which typically run around $1,000," reports CNN.

DigitalTrends.com reports that the Online Publishers study has consumers evenly split between Android and iOS tablets (just a year ago the tablet sector was dominated by Apple's iPad). Adoption of the BlackBerry Playbook, meanwhile, drops year-over-year. Watching Internet video continues to be the most popular tablet activity.

Read more on the tablet study in DigitalTrends here. Read more on the Microsoft Surface from CNN here.