One of the biggest decisions that financial services companiesface today is to select the right technology for their mobileservice delivery. With a multitude of tablets, smartphones andapplications out there in the consumer world – some better thanothers – the wrong decision could result in less than anticipatedresults, or worse.

Which device is best of show now for credit unions to enhancetheir virtual services to members? The research is pointing in onedirection … the iPad is at the top of the mobile food chain. Appsavailable today enable credit union members to use their iPadtablet to easily access their personal account status and history,as well as credit union-hosted Web pages or the credit union'spresence on Facebook or Twitter.

With so many tablets on the market, why the iPad? It's simple.Because Apple's iPad is the most widely used tablet in the U.S.According to a recent study by Pew Research Center, ownership hasincreased from 5% of American adults to about 20% in the past twoyears. When users are categorized by households that earn $75,000or more per year, that figure increases to 47%.

Apple iPads will account for two-thirds of tablets shippedthrough 2013, according to a forecast from NPD DisplaySearch, whichuses research from more than 140 display component manufacturersaround the globe.

It's a growing market. A study from Javelin Strategy &Research, 2012 Tablet and BankingReport, which assesses the tablet banking market, showsthat mobile banking by tablet owners is now growing at twice therate of non-tablet owners (49% versus 22%). This growth willcontinue as overall tablet adoption is forecast to grow to 40% by2016. Most importantly, a 2012 study by Phoenix Payments found that34% of tablet owners want to bank on their device.

In this hyperactive environment, selecting the correct tabletand the right apps is a complex decision.

A credit union's iPad app should certainly be different than theiPhone app. Application extensions should be offered to takeadvantage of the larger screen size of tablets and the greatercustomization the additional real estate affords.

Who uses what and for how long are also major issues that mustbe considered. The online market is clearly segmented, according tomarket research. But what might be popular today could be in thetrash can tomorrow. The Javelin study on tablet use for financialservices reports that:

• Apple holds the top market share with 55%.
• Amazon's Kindle Fire captured 10% of the tablet market in justa few months.
• Tablet owners have higher rates of mobile person-to-person(P2P) transfers.
• Tablet owners are young (ages 25 to 44), wealthy (incomesexceed $100,000 and have more investable assets), and use manyfinancial products.

Digging deeper into market research underscores that the tabletas a mobile device still has a lot of room to grow. The questionis, which way will it grow and who will drive the growth?

For instance, according to statista.com, only 23% of the generalonline population uses a tablet on a monthly basis, while 47% use asmartphone and 70% use a laptop. Digging even deeper, 29% of youngmothers who are pregnant and/or have children who are 8 years oldor younger use tablets, while 65% of those young mothers use cellphones and 80% use laptops.

So, does it make sense to commit major investments in the tabletmarket, hoping that it will grow to the same level of use assmartphones or laptops, or be even larger? Or does it make moresense to invest in the smartphone and laptop markets that alreadydominate the online space, assuming they will continue to outpacetablets?

To retain and attract new members' attention needs to paid toall channels. As technology changes fast, seeking economicalsolutions available in the market today to either alternative mayease the pain if the solution ends up in the trash cantomorrow.

Whether it's tablets or laptops, making the right decision intoday's dynamic, technology driven environment is one of the greatchallenges for any business and requires strategic marketingcoupled with intelligent vision.

For credit unions, which as an industry have always stressedcooperation and collaboration, part of that intelligent visioncalls for drawing on the counsel of strategic partners forsolutions to meet both short- and long-term trends in themarket.

RandyThompson is a senior product manager for CO-OP Financial Services in RanchoCucamonga, Calif.