More than 1 in 5 Americans currently own or plan to buy a tablet computer within the next three years, according to an online survey conducted in November by Harris Interactive and sponsored by Fuze Box.

Harris Interactive surveyed 2,288 adults in the US, aged 18 and older, online, from 10 – 12 November, 2010. An estimated 9m people in America currently own tablet devices, and Fuze Box says the new research shows a major growth opportunity for tablet-related apps and usage for personal and business reasons.

Tablet use
Those adults who own and/or plan to buy a tablet computer in the next three years plan to use their tablet for the following:

• Browsing the Internet (78 per cent)
• Email (75 per cent)
• Social networking (50 per cent)
• Watching TV/movies (43 per cent)
• Business/professional purposes (37 per cent)
• Gaming (33 per cent)
• Building a creative portfolio (12 per cent)
• Other (10 per cent)

Tablets in the workplace
Those adults who use/plan to use their tablet computer for business/professional purposes use/plan to use their tablet computer for:

• Business correspondence (58 per cent)
• Online meetings/Web conferences (37 per cent)
• Marketing (34 per cent)
• Training (33 per cent)
• Finance/accounting (32 per cent)
• Sales (27 per cent)
• Graphic design (27 per cent)
• Inventory management (27 per cent)
• Customer support (24 per cent)
• Other (30 per cent)

“Since before the iPad launched in April, we’ve persisted (sic) that tablets would soon become a widely used business tool,” says Jeff Cavins, CEO of Fuze Box. “With two in five tablet owners using their device for business by 2014, we have officially entered the post PC era, and the potential is there to reinvent the business environment for collaboration with portable and tactile computing devices, complete with cameras, document sharing, cloud computing, and storage.”

Tablet splits on gender
Based on the results of the survey, it appears that men generally are more receptive to tablet computers. Men are more likely than women to say they own and/or plan to buy a tablet computer in the next three years (26 per cent vs. 18 per cent respectively). Of those who own and/or plan to buy a tablet computer in the next three years, women are more likely than men to say they will use their tablet for social networking (60 per cent vs. 43 per cent respectively).

Youth and tablets
Younger adults (18-34) are more likely than their older counterparts (55+) to say they own and/or plan to buy a tablet computer in the next three years (26 per cent vs. 15 per cent respectively).
Of those who own and/or plan to buy a tablet computer in the next three years, younger adults (18-34) are more likely than older  adults (55+) to say a main use for their tablet computer is social networking (59 per cent vs. 30 per cent respectively).