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"To get a feel for the tablet vs PC market, I again looked to IDC for data on computer sales. Last month, it reported a total of 87.7 million personal computers were sold in the third quarter of this year; down 8.6 percent from the year ago quarter. That's not a favorable trend, considering tablet sales grew nearly 50 percent in the past year. If you were to ignore the smartphone for this exercise - which has surpasses sales of the PC early this year - and do a quick calculation of the total tablets and PCs sold, 24 percent of the 115.5 "computers" were tablets in the last quarter."

Taking just the use of paid content on tablets in Q4 2011, Nielsen found that in the U.S., a majority of tablet owners have already paid for downloaded music, books and movies, with 62 percent, 58 percent and 51 percent respectively saying they have already made such purchases. The one area that really fell down in the U.S. was news, where only 19 percent said they had ever paid to read news on their tablets.

The Yankee Group study forecasts that tablets will account for 53% of mobile ad dollars in 2014 compared to 47% for mobile handsets. By 2016, tablets' share of mobile ad sales will rise to 60%. Ads within mobile applications in particular will help to drive growth. Yankee Group found that a quarter (24%) of tablet owners clicked on ads while using apps, and 29% purchased extra content.

The vast majority that clicked on ads was likely to take some action, including receiving a coupon (51%), research a product (49%) or making a purchase (46%). After coupons, ads featuring specific product searching, favorite brands, and location information were most likely to entice smartphone users to interact with them. When it comes to mobile platforms, the study found iOS users trumped Android device owners in ad responsiveness. People using iPhones and iPads were more likely to make a purchase than Android-based users. The findings, presented Monday at the IAB's Mobile Marketplace conference, were based on a survey conducted by ABI Research of 552 U.S. adults who use a smartphone with data service at least once a week, and 563 corresponding tablet users. The sample was split evenly by gender and covered those18 to 65+. The study also emphasized that mobile no longer means merely "on-the-go," with virtually all tablet and smartphone owners using their devices at home-the most common place for mobile activity. Tablets are viewed mainly as media consumption devices;  smartphones are considered "mission-critical" tools that 70% won't leave home without.

Move over, Valentine. Looks like tablet owners' favorite place to snuggle up with iPads and Kindles may be the bedroom. That's according to a recent study from Publicis Groupe agency Rosetta. Sixty-eight percent of 889 respondents said they or their families regularly use tablets in their bedroom -- more than any other location. Using tablets in the "living room while doing other things" is a close second, at 63%. Just over half of respondents said they use their tablets in the living room without other distractions.

The first promising stat is that tablet publications keep readers' attention, with 56 percent of DPS content being read for 25 minutes to 2.5 hours each month. Nine percent of readers spend up to 5 hours a month reading tablet publications. One of the reasons for these un-Internet-like attention spans might be interactivity. Tablet publications are packed with slideshows, videos, 360-degree images, and constantly updated content from the web.

Barnes & Noble is reportedly releasing a Nook Tablet with less storage space-and, presumably, a lower price-on Wednesday - analysts expect it to be priced at $199 to compete with the Kindle Fire. (The Nook with more storage is currently $249).

Tablet shipments will outpace those of portable PCs this year as demand for PCs overall continues to slide, according to a new IDC forecast. The research firm projects that tablet worldwide shipments will rise 58.7% to 229.3 million units in 2013, while notebook computers will fall 6.7% to 187.4 million.

""The survey showed tablet owners 55 and older who watch TV and movies weekly on tablets jumped from 11% last year to 19% in 2012, while owners in the 45-54 range also saw large percentage gains (15% to 24%)," the company explained in their announcement. "While it may not make parents seem any cooler, older consumers more and more are adopting their kids' viewing habits," said Altman Vilandrie & Company Director Jonathan Hurd."

"The Mini could help expand the overall tablet audience, which tends to be more affluent than the overall mobile audience. "We know from industry studies that 56% of tablet owners make over $75,000, and 46% have made a purchase after interacting with a tablet ad, so this creates a new, potentially very lucrative frontier for digital marketers," noted Kurt Hawks, general manager of mobile ad network Greystripe.

"more than half of children between the ages of five and eight have already used tablets to play or learn, according to some research. For kids between the ages of six and 12, the iPad was the most coveted gadget last Christmas. Tablets are permeating family life, too; in households that own a device, kids 12 and under get their hands on it more often than not."

It may seem like an odd market to tackle, but even among young kids, tablet use is growing. A Nielsen study from earlier this year found that 70 percent of children aged 12 and under who live in a household with a tablet use said tablet. At the same time, just 15 percent were said to have used them for communicating with friends and family. That low number could provide a significant opportunity, should the right product arrive that manages to make communication functions more appealing to the tween and under 12 set.

Nearly half, 47 percent, of tablet users say they engage with advertisements more than once a week. That's according to a recent report from the Interactive Advertising Bureau and its Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence. On the smartphone side, 25 percent of users said they have the same weekly engagement. Following ad engagement, 80 percent of smartphone users and 89 percent of tablet users take action, said the report. The "Mobile's Role in the Consumer's Media Day" report studied behaviors on both types of devices, finding each used devices in different ways.

In an effort to compete with Amazon's Kindle Fire, e-reading company Kobo is launching a tablet of its own: The $199.99 Kobo Vox, a 7-inch Android color tablet.

Wrestling with how to define and distinguish the tablet market from the mobile phone market when assigning value to content.

"According to the study, which surveyed nearly 10,000 U.S. adults, around half of whom owned some sort of mobile device, a full 64 percent of tablets owners and 62prcent of smart phone owners said they used their devices for news at least one per week, meaning that one third of adults in the United States get some kind of news on a tablet or phone on a weekly basis, if not more frequently."

Good stats on tablet usage

But, while willingness was just five percent for computer access, it rose to 16 percent on tablet and 12 percent on mobile. Also encouraging - those aged 16-24 and 25-34 are most willing to pay (13 percent and 11 percent, respectively), compared with just five percent of 35-54s and just three percent of over-55s.