• by Kevin McKenzie , April 19, 2010

It's no secret that people are spending an increasing amount of their time out of the home as their lives become more and more mobile.

More than 1,000 new Wi-Fi-enabled products were introduced last year according to In-Stat and, according to Morgan Stanley, more than 890 million new Internet-enabled wireless devices are expected to ship this year. Those are astonishing numbers, but one new device might just push these numbers beyond the ridiculous! Yes, you guessed it -- the Apple iPad.

Why the iPad might be the next "traveler device"

Consumers want more bandwidth over Wi-Fi ... more bandwidth means faster downloads, better game play and quicker browsing. This is exactly why the iPad is a game-changer. The media experience the iPad offers goes above and beyond the user experience of any other medium (print, online, mobile browsers).

The iPad has the functionality of apps combined with HD video and mobility. For years, travelers have had devices like smartphones and laptops to stay connected to work while on the go.

The iPad reinvents this connected experience by allowing users to not only stay close with their work (email, work files, reports) and linked with their friends and family (social networking), but now allows travelers to receive all of their entertainment content. In essence, the iPad brings the "living room" experience wherever someone's travels may take them.

Are travelers the first to adopt the iPad?

We looked across our JiWire network traffic to see how many iPads have connected to our national network of airports, hotels and cafes. Launch-week results suggest it could have a significant impact on the already explosive increase in Wi-Fi usage from travelers.

For example, iPad unique impressions have doubled since its release with 125% growth of unique sessions from iPad users connecting to our public Wi-Fi channel. Almost half of the iPad traffic is coming from airports! This proves people are traveling with their iPad device. Here are more launch week (Sat - Thurs) iPad details that we saw:

Out of all ad requests:

• 25.2% connecting in hotels

• 26.9% connecting in cafes

• 43.6% connecting in airports

• Top 5 DMA's include Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York and Dallas/Fort Worth, accounting for 39.3% of new iPads connecting

What does this mean for Marketers?

With the proliferation of devices, it becomes ever more important for marketers to remain focused on audience. The marketer will need to conform to reaching its audience (in this case, travelers) across multiple devices and adapt current and upcoming programs to incorporate the iPad. The iPad won't replace smartphones and laptops but, rather, will complement them.

Early data suggest the iPad will drive the increasing proliferation of location-based services in both mobile and online, which creates significant scale and reach for location-based advertising. As a result, marketers will need to take advantage of this ability to reach on-the-go consumers as they use their iPads and other mobile devices to connect to Wi-Fi.

Reaching travelers across all mobile devices allows marketers to reach their audience no matter "how" or "where" they are connecting while traveling.

Marketers will also need to start thinking about how they can offer rich advertising experiences to consumers so that their marketing initiatives resonate and engage the viewers; after all, iPad owners are drawn to the device because of its inherent ability to support a rich, high-bandwidth experience.

A combination of the viewing experience with the knowledge of location context suggests the iPad will join other mobile devices as a key element in marketer's strategy to reach the on-the-go audience.