Market Research is changing
The market research world is transitioning from pen & paper to tablets. It’s happening now and it’s happening quickly. For many people, tablets equals iPads or any other iOS Apple device.
However, before jumping on the expensive Apple wagon, we highly recommend taking a step back and evaluating whether iOS is a better choice than the Android tablets out there. Specifically it is important to evaluate the unique requirements of tablet survey software.
However, before jumping on the expensive Apple wagon, we highly recommend taking a step back and evaluating whether iOS is a better choice than the Android tablets out there. Specifically it is important to evaluate the unique requirements of tablet survey software.
Requirements from tablets for CAPI
When looking at tablet CAPI requirements here are a few of the most important ones:
- Tablet Price: tablet price is one of the most important factors when considering survey software platforms. iPads are by far the most expensive devices out there. A decent iPad will cost you ~$500. When comparing this price to a medium range Android tablet of ~$150 you are looking at a $350/device price difference. Multiply that by 60-100 devices and you are looking at a huge price difference. Save tens of thousands of dollars by running your survey software on Android tablets instead.
- GPS location based capturing : Market research field work is all about accuracy of data. GPS location capturing greatly boost the quality of the data collected. Survey software for Android tablets such as SurveyToGo provides this out of the box at no extra cost.
- Video / photos / sounds – playing adverts, capturing sounds, taking a picture of the house that was interviewed: all of these are the modern tools of the market research firms to deliver the next generation in depth interviews. While survey software for iPads might support these features, survey software such as SurveyToGo support these capabilities at a fraction of the cost.
- Fast software updates: it’s not a secret that pushing updates to ipad applications takes time. Sometimes up to 2 weeks for Apple to approve app updates. With Android based survey software updates and fixes can be pushed out instantly. The SurveyToGo team pushes custom fixes and updates for customers sometimes hours after requests are received.
The above are just a few of the many reasons. Essentially it boils down to this: Android tablets can do everything the iPad does and cost a 1/3rd of the price. As a market research company, survey software for iPad should make much less sense than going for Android tablets.