Google researches how people play games on tablets

When U.S. tablet owners are playing your games on their devices, they're most likely sitting or lying down on a couch, according to a new Google study examining how consumers use tablets. The research paper, which seeks to provide an understanding of why and how people use their tablets, found that tablet gamers are also likely to play while in bed or riding in a car, and in fewer instances at a table or at an office. And when gamers multi-task while playing on their tablets, most of the time they're doing that while watching television -- the only other activity more popular than playing games while watching TV is checking email. Tablet owners also said they're often waiting for something when they decide to play games. Among the 33 people who participated in Google's targeted study, around 91 percent of their total tablet use was for personal purposes, and only 9 percent of their activities were related to work. Those who play games, watch videos, and look up cooking recipes on their tablets were particularly passionate about those activities. Examining user habits, the research paper found that tablet owners tend to spend more time with their devices on a typical weekday than a weekend day (average of 48 minutes versus 36 minutes, respectively), but they're more likely to spend longer periods of time on specific activities like playing games or watching videos on the weekend. While the sample size of Google's study is small, its findings that playing games is the second most popular activity among tablet owners (second to checking emails) -- more than half of respondents play games -- are in line with Nielsen's findings in a larger survey showing that gaming was one of the top three most popular activities for tablet owners. Google's research paper, Understanding Tablet Use: A Multi-Method Exploration, can be viewed here.