Tablets and e-books were a hot gift item over the holidays, as the number of Americans owning tablets nearly doubled from 10% in mid-December to 19% in mid-January, according to a survey released by Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project.
E-book ownership saw a similar rise from 10% to 19% and the number of adults owning at least one tablet or e-book rose to 29%.
The survey highlights the growing importance of tablets both for the general population and ethnic groups. The survey found that Hispanics and African Americans over-indexed for tablet research, with 21% of those groups owning one compared to 19% for whites.
Among various age groups, those aged 30 to 49 were most likely to own a tablet with 27% owning the device, followed by the 18-29 demo (24%), 50 to 64 (15%) and those over 65 (7%).
Tablet owners tended to have more education, with 31% of college graduates owning a tablet, and more affluent, with 36% of those making more than $75,000 a year owning one.
Men and women were equally divided in tablet ownership at 19% for each gender.
