Early adopters of media tablets have quickly begun using the devices for daily personal activities, according to Gartner.

According to the survey of 510 consumers in the US, UK and Australia, checking email was the main activity moving from PCs to media tablets (81%), followed by reading the news (69%), checking the weather forecast (63%), social networking (62%) and gaming (60%).

Additionally, the findings showed more than 50% of media tablet owners prefer to read news, magazines and books on screen, rather than on paper.

However, the shift from paper to screen-based consumption is not yet a straight substitution of one medium for another.

Carolina Milanesi, research VP at Gartner, explained; “Other than their tablets, most respondents also owned PCs, TVs and mobile phones. The respondents, early adopters of media tablets, said they use their multiple devices interchangeably, rather than substituting one device for another. They seek to use whichever device is at hand — or the most convenient to use at a particular time and for a specific task. However, respondents use their PCs (desk-based or mobile) 20% less at weekends.”

Meanwhile, media tablets play a more dominant role in the home than mobile phones or PCs, with the highest usage taking place in the living room (87%), the bedroom (65%) and the kitchen (47%), said Gartner.

Annette Zimmermann, principal research analyst at Gartner, added: “The mobile phone is the most personal device in the hands of users, and it enables more private activities. It is the device that the respondents use most throughout the day, with the average user in the survey using it eight times a day for tasks requiring connectivity. This compares with an average usage frequency of twice a day for media tablets and three times a day for mobile PCs.”