The results are in, the media has passed judgement and it would seem the what you do whilst on the loo is most important.

Our recent research project, ‘Generation i’, into the whys and wherefores of iPad usage stemmed from a dearth of data. Frequent requests from clients as to who iPad users were and what the hell they were doing with these newfangled devices were greeted by a combination of gut feel and hunches. Keen as ever to please our clients we wanted to find hard data on what was really going on.

None of the mayor research companies had any conclusive data and the analysts were obsessed with finger in the air estimates of sales figures rather than real life examples in this obviously glamorous but otherwise mysterious market.

So we decided we’d find out for ourselves.

We conducted a huge survey of over 1000 iPad users (the most comprehensive to date) and came up with some great data. Some confirmation of what we had suspected all along and some suprising finds. You can find our highlights of the iPad research here but let me tell you about some of the finds that I think are important. 

The first story picked up by brand republic revealed that 1 in 5 men read their iPad on the loo. The twitter response was “what? Only 1 in 5?”

Delve deeper into the data and you’ll found some real gems. So a large proportion of iPad owners (55%) are over 45%. but a correspondingly large majority of iPads (62%) are used by entire households including, spouses, flat mates and children with the average iPad being used by over 2 people. Delivering a significantly larger audience than mere sales stats reveal.

So maybe this doesn’t strike you as a huge proportion of the population. Bearing in mind that this device, indeed this entire CATEGORY of device is only a year old this is pretty remarkable. Look again at the data and we find that 39 % of iPad owners are using their laptops less, 35% are using their desktop less and are watching 10% less television. 

It’s conclusive, the iPad is a properly disruptive piece of technology. Owners are abandoning old forms of media (including so-called ‘new media’ like fixed line Internet) for this young, touchy feely, upstart that is the tablet computer. The data shows that the iPad is ‘kind of mobile’ but with most usage at home. 98% use it at home as opposed to 47% travelling or 19% commuting.

As publishers of iPad only magazine PROJECT, we have collated vast amounts of data about what works, what doesn’t in engaging audiences on the device but until you really know who your readers are it’s difficult to really draw conclusion about the future of this platform and it’s real potential for marketing and entertaining the a mainstream audience. The data has gone some way to completing the circle for us.

This week we’re unveiling the full dataset for our clients and we’ll realease the whole lot soon afterwards once we’ve really got to grips with what the data means. Check back or follow me on twitter.com/ipad_publisher and we’ll publish it online. After all, it’s in all our interests for this category to flourish. For the benefit of our clients, the publishing industry and the customer.