(May 3, 2012, Information Today)

Ebook consumers’ preference for tablets is accelerating rapidly as dedicated e-readers drop in popularity, according to the Book Industry Study Group’s (BISG) closely watched “Consumer Attitudes Toward E-Book Reading” survey. The second installment in Volume Three of the study shows that, over the course of just 6 months, consumers’ “first choice” preference for dedicated e-readers, such as those from Amazon and Barnes & Noble, declined from 72% to 58%. Tablet devices are now the most preferred reading device for more than 24% of ebook buyers, up from less than 13% in August 2011. Further, the increase in tablet preference was not primarily for Apple’s iPad (which rose by more than 1%), but for non-Apple tablets—overwhelmingly from Amazon and Barnes & Noble. These non-Apple devices increased from 5% to 14% over the same period.

Source: Book Industry Study Group, Inc.