By the end of this year, the number of people in the Netherlands with a tablet computer will have equalled the number of people with home pcs, according to market research group GfK.

GfK says some 7.9 million people will have a desktop computer at home, down from 8.3 million a year ago. By contrast, the number of people with a tablet will have gone up by 8% to 7.9 million.

Laptops still rule the roost – over 10 million people out of a Dutch population of 17 million have a laptop while just under 10 million have a smartphone.

The GfK researchers say more people are using their smartphones to catch up on the news, read books and watch television programmes compared with a year ago.