Ebook reader and tablet ownership doubles

If you received a Kindle, Kobo, iPad or similar in your Christmas stocking this year, you're far from alone. A study from Pew Internet says that ownership of tablets doubled over the holiday period, as did ebook reader ownership.

Between mid-December and mid-January, according to Pew Internet's data, the percentage of US adults who own an eBook reader jumped from 10% to 19%. Similarly, the percentage of US adults with a tablet device also jumped from 10% to 19% over the same period. In total, the number of adults owning one or both of these types of devices went from 18% to 29% over the holiday season.

From mid-2011 until November, there was very little change in eBook or tablet ownership, says Pew, which suggests that most of these were given as gifts over the holidays.

Pew attributes the jump to the drop in prices for most eBook readers in the lead-up to Christmas, as well as to the introduction of the Kindle Fire and Nook tablets at low prices.

Pew's survey was conducted as phone interviews during January, surveying 2986 adults 16 or over.

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