![Huge Growth Projected for Tablet PCs [REPORT]](https://helios-i.mashable.com/imagery/archives/010Jb7qRLNmCjfrjLg0Nru8/hero-image.fill.size_1248x702.v1647019386.jpg)
The online survey — by Harris Interactive on behalf of Fuze Box, based on the responses of 2,288 adults in November — reports that 9 million people, or roughly 3% of the population, currently own tablet devices.
The report doesn't break down the type of tablets, but Apple has reported sales of at least 8 million iPads through October. This month, eMarketer estimated that iPads make up 85% of the tablet market. The researcher projects that tablet sales will grow more than 400% by 2012, to 81.3 million units.
In the Harris survey, of those who reported they owned some type of tablet PC, 78% use their tablets for browsing the Internet and 75% read their e-mail on them. Other uses include:
Reading e-books/newspapers (53%)
Social networking (50%)
Watching TV/movies (43%)
Gaming (33%)
Building a creative portfolio (12%)
Other (10%)
Not all the devices are used for play, though. Fifty-eight percent of respondents said they use their tablets for business correspondence and 37% use them for online meetings and web conferences. Among other business uses cited:
Marketing (34%)
Training (33%)
Finance/accounting (32%)
Sales (27%)
Graphic design (27%)
Inventory management (27%)
Customer support (24%)
Other (30%)