As the nation’s love affair with gadgets and gizmos shows no sign of slowing down, new research reveals that Brits are now carrying over £4,100 worth of technology to and from work – a £289 increase in value compared with two years ago.
The research, by esure home insurance, found that the typical commuter bag contains as many as six gadgets with more than a quarter of Brits (26 per cent) carrying more than three costly items at any one time. The most popular gadget is a Blackberry (46 per cent), closely followed by a laptop (38 per cent), and the iPhone 4/4S (20 per cent).
15 per cent of ‘tech-obsessed’ commuters are now proud owners of the Kindle Fire HD – which retails at a costly £159 – the iPad mini (£269) or a Google Nexus 7 (£199). And with 2013 predicted to be another huge year for gadget launches – including the iPhone 5S and Amazon phone – the cost of the commuter bag is set to rise even further.
London commuters carry the highest total value of gadgets on their daily journey to work – lugging around an average of three gadgets each up to the value of £866. In contrast, those in the East Midlands have the least costly commuter bag carrying around just £433 worth of portable technology with them to and from the office.
Despite seven per cent of Brits revealing they had a portable gadget stolen from them in the past year more than a quarter (28 per cent) are unsure as to whether their personal belongings insurance covers the cost of the gadgets and portable technology they are carrying around with them.
According to the research, commuters now spend an average of five hours and 42 minutes using their iPad or laptop on a daily basis and up to two hours staring at, or using their mobile phones. Brits will spend nine hours and sixteen minutes in a day staring at a screen at home and at work – more than five hours longer than they spend chatting face-to-face with a friend or loved one.
Over half of Brits (58 per cent) use their gadgets first thing in the morning when they wake up, and last thing at night before their head hits the pillow. Two fifths of Brits (40 per cent) surf the internet on their phone or iPad from their beds and almost half (46 per cent) check their emails.
A fifth of Brits (20 per cent) admit to arguing with their other half about the amount of time they spend glued to their gadgets and 18 per cent wish that their partner would spend more quality time with them.
Nikki Sellers, Head of Home at esure, said: “We have become a nation of self-confessed tech-addicts who are always on the look-out for the next big thing in the gadget world. This is clearly shown in our research revealing the increase in the cost of the commuter bag from previous years.
“In light of this, we are urging workers to take extra care when carrying around their pricey belongings and to be vigilant on their daily commute. It is important for commuters to check that they have adequate insurance to cover the value of the gadgets and devices they are lugging around with them.”
BREAKDOWN OF COMMUTER BAG COSTS
iPhone 4/4s: £449
Blackberry Bold 9900: £399.95
Other mobile phone (e.g Nokia 6111): £90.99
iPad: £329
Sat Nav (e.g Tom Tom 60): £149.99
Digital Camera (e.g Samsung Galaxy): £394.99
Amazon Kindle: £69
Laptop (Apple 15″ MacBook Pro): £2,299
