A new report from IDC revealed tablet shipments are predicted to be down almost four percent this year while cellular-connected devices will grow, TheJournal.com said.

"According to the report, tablet sales have declined for the last two quarters, and that downward trend is expected to continue through 2015. However, IDC expects cellular-connected tablets and two-in-ones to increase their percentage of the market share compared to WiFi only devices," the article said.

Part of the reason behind this trend could have a lot to do with the availability of WiFi; it is a known problem that districts with tech initiatives have to take into account not every household has WiFi available.

"IDC also forecasts a decline in sales of small-screen tablets as a result of the growing popularity of phablets, as smartphones with oversized displays are called. While small-screen tablets held 64 percent of the market in 2014, the company expects that number to decline to 58 percent in 2015 and to just under 50 percent by 2019."

Though several innovative schools have tried to think outside the box when providing WiFi access to all students, it's a difficult feat that oftentimes requires a big budget. Some schools, for example, have spent significant finances on equipping school buses with WiFi hotspots so students can work on the bus ride home or allow the buses to act as community hotspots overnight, but such innovative practices are not easy enough to be widely adopted.

This could be a significant reason behind the preference of using cellular-connected devices versus tablets despite benefits tablet devices might hold over smart phones.

Read the full article and report here and comment below.

Article by Nicole Gorman, Education World Contributor

06/02/2015