Tablet and E-book ownership nearly double over the holidays

Pew Internet:

The share of adults in the United States who own tablet computers nearly doubled from 10% to 19% between mid-December and early January and the same surge in growth also applied to e-book readers, which also jumped from 10% to 19% over the same time period.

The number of Americans owning at least one of these digital reading devices jumped from 18% in December to 29% in January.


It's not entirely clear which devices account for this increase, the survey strongly suggests that the Kindle Fire and Nook pricing played a role but doesn't produce data to support the assumption. But a good assumption, despite the deluge of initial negative reviews, they are attractive devices at an affordable price point.

Tablet and E-book reader Ownership Nearly Double Over the Holiday Gift-Giving Period

Update:

From Apple's conference call detailing Apple's Q1 record-breaking revenue and profit stated that Apple saw no change in iPad sales due to the introduction of lower priced limited function tablets.

Apple doesn't consider [...] "limited function tablets and e-readers to be in the same category as the iPad". A big reason for the iPads success is that the ecosystem for the iPad is "in a class by itself".

[...] "We strongly believe in optimizing applications from day one to take advantage of the larger canvas. There are only a few hundred apps designed for the competition, versus more than 170,000 apps designed specifically for iPad. People who want an iPad won't settle for a limited function tablet".