According to a recent study by Pew Internet, adults in the United States are buying e-readers at a much faster rate than tablets. The number of adults who own an e-book reader doubled to 12%, compared to only 8% who own a tablet.
Both numbers have seen growth over the past six months, but the e-reader owners jumped by a much larger percentage. Adults owning an e-book reader were at 6% in November 2010 and tablet owners were at 5%.
Other interesting growth statistics from the last six months include:
- E-reader ownership among parents has grown more rapidly than it has among-non-parents.
- E-reader ownership grew at a faster pace among Hispanic adults over white or African-American adults.
- Ownership among adults ages 18-49 grew more rapidly than any other age group.
The study also tracked how many people owned both an e-reader and a tablet. 5% say they own a tablet but not an e-reader. I’m assuming they mean a physical Kindle or Nook. But … why would they when they can just download the app for free?
There’s definitely still a debate brewing over whether to purchase an e-reader or a tablet. While I personally would rather own a tablet with the Kindle app, I think it ultimately depends on what you plan to use it for, what you’re looking for, and how much you’re willing to spend. CNET has a great article that discusses the pros and cons of both.
So, tell us – do you own an e-reader, a tablet, or both?
I’m actually still amazed that, despite the rise of tablet sales, there are still some people who opt for e-reader whereas they can still read book and do many kinds of stuff with tablets, like Kindle Fire maybe. I believe the ones who buy e-reader are some adults over 30 or 40 years old given that they don’t really need tablet as much as people under 30 or 25. With Amazon releasing the latest model of Kindle reader, i think there are still many buyers who will opt to buy e-reader over Kindle Fire HD this holiday season, or maybe both of them.