I have news for those of you who still believe that tablets are just a „toy“ for the young generation. You are not totally wrong, but these numbers might knock you off your feet: 46 % of the 14 to 29 year olds in Germany have a tablet, an amazing 42 % (!!) of the 30 to 49 year olds, as well as 34 % of the 50 to 64 year olds have a tablet (BITKOM). This negates the thesis of tablets being interesting for the youngsters only.
It is really astonishing how fast those handy devices are becoming more and more popular. Beginning of 2013, only 13 % of the Germans aged 14+ owned a tablet. This number doubled by beginning of 2014 to 26 %, and rose again until autumn 2014 to 34 %.
The vast tablet boom might be based on the fact that they are very easy to use. Let me give you an example: My mother (born in 1958) was hesitating a long time to buy a tablet until I could convince her to buy an Apple iPad. She is a woman that considers smart phones with touch displays "high science". She has neither a smart phone nor is she working with devices that I would call "technologically advanced". Everything "too complicated". After a few weeks of using the iPad, she said to me "The iPad has been the best investment for years and I would never want to give it away." She is not the only one having such an aha experience. According to a survey, 58 % of the Germans would not want to miss their tablet any more.
Hence, optimizing content for tablets (may it be a web shop, magazine or just an ordinary website) has become crucial if you want to be successful with your product on the internet.
But what about smart phones? Only 20 % of the Germans above 18 download one to maximum two apps per month (source: FOCUS, comScore). Practical apps (most of all Facebook, Whatsapp, Instagram, Maps, Youtube) seem to be enough for the smart phone users. The demand for new, more or less "usefull" apps is stagnating. The smart phone app market is still rising by 27 % per year on a global scale, but in Germany only by 12 % (App Economy Report 2014). Particularly Asia shows high growth rates here, in Europe the market is more or less saturated.