The number of Americans adults owning at least one ereader or tablet rose from 18 to 29 percent between mid-December and early January. Both categories increased their penetration by 90 percent from 10 to 19 percent.
The findings come from ongoing surveys by Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project. Clearly a tablet or ereader was seen as an ideal gift, something easy to choose and which would be well received.
Another report, in the London Daily Telegraph, suggests that more than a fifth of Kindle recipients have not used their Christmas gifts and have not downloaded a single book. One in forty British adults received a Kindle for Christmas.
It is hard to imagine an iPad going unused, but the Telegraph reports than nine percent of new tablets remained untouched.