Survey: iPad Changing Owners' Relationship With Email

Apple's iPad is "changing people's relationship with email," with a majority of owners now saying it's their favorite device from which to read and write messages, according to a new survey from Perion.

The maker of email client IncrediMail surveyed 4,400 U.S. iPad users, and found that most prefer using their Apple tablet for email, rather than their PC or smartphone. Ninety percent said that accessing email on their iPad was either "very" or "extremely" important to them. Moreover, two-thirds said they check email on their Apple tablet more than three times per day.

The study also delved into exactly how and why people are using email on their iPad. Though an overwhelming 97 percent of iPad owners read emails on their device, just two-thirds use it to send replies. Meanwhile, 31 percent read and send all their emails from their iPad.

There are also some differences based on gender. Women enjoy using their iPad to read emails more than men, and are also more likely to write or reply to messages. Sixty-eight percent of women said they only use their iPad for personal messages, while more than half of male respondents use it to send work and personal correspondence.

Overall, 60 percent of respondents said they use their iPad exclusively for personal emails. But debunking the idea that the iPad has no place in business, 38 percent overall said they use their Apple tablet for personal and work messages.

Apple's built-in Mail app is the preferred way of accessing email at 41 percent, followed by Gmail at 31 percent, and Hotmail and 13 percent, the survey found. Just 41 percent of respondents, however, said they are "extremely" satisfied with the email apps they are using. Interestingly, 18 percent of users choose to open their Web browsers and access webmail rather than using an app.

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