Ownership of iPads, Kindles, and similar devices exploded over the holiday period. The Pew Internet and American Life Project found that the share of adults in the U.S. who own tablet computers--such as an iPad--went from from 10% to 19% between mid-December and early January. The survey also found that e-book readers similarly enjoyed a jump from 10% to 19% during the same time period. And the number of American owning at least one of these types of devices went from 18% to 29% from December to January.
Among Hispanics, tablet ownership shifted from 10% in mid-December to 21% in mid-January, while e-reader ownership more than tripled, going from 6% to 19%.
The Pew report indicated that the findings "are striking because they come after a period from mid-2011 into the autumn in which there was not much change in the ownership of tablets and e-book readers."
Pew notes that there was a dramatic marketplace shift just at the onset of the holiday season owing to reduced prices on e-readers and the new availability of lower-priced tablets, including the Kindle Fire and the Nook Tablet.
The survey was conducted through telephone interviews with a sample size of 2,986 people ages 16 and older. The survey interviews, which was conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International, were administered in both English and Spanish.
