Analyst: iPad Has 91 Percent Consumer Satisfaction

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ipad-changewave

Two new surveys released bear good news for both Apple and the beleaguered publishing industry: More than 90 percent of consumers love their iPad. The surveys by ChangeWave found demand for the tablet device is increasing after the product’s introduction and that iPad owners are three-times as likely to read newspapers and magazines compared to owners of other e-readers.

In a survey conducted this month, 7 percent of people said they would “very likely” purchase an iPad with 13 percent saying they were “somewhat likely.” What’s intriguing is that a similar survey, conducted in February prior to the iPad’s release, found 4 percent “very likely” would buy the Apple device and another 9 percent saying they were “somewhat likely” to purchase the highly-hyped gadget. The numbers indicate a positive word-of-mouth for the iPad, even after the device moved from rumor to reality.


The research firm released another survey likely to put a spring in Apple executive’s steps. A survey of 153 iPad owners found 74 percent were “very satisfied” with the device while another 17 percent were “somewhat satisfied.” Only 2 percent of the survey group were unsatisfied with the Apple tablet.

Those numbers follow word the iPad could be outselling Macs. These latest high rates of satisfaction mirror those of the iPhone. However, the iPhone was introduced in 2007 and the iPad is just months-old. “Apple has now reached these nosebleed levels with a brand new product,” ChangeWave noted Thursday.

For publishers, the dual iPad surveys also offered comfort. People who purchased iPads are much more likely to use the devices to read newspapers and magazines, compared to owners of other e-readers, such as the Kindle. Around 50 percent of iPad owners said they read newspapers on the tablet, compared to just 14 percent for users of other e-readers. Also, 38 percent of iPad users flip through magazines on their device, compared to 11 percent for other e-readers.

“More than three times as many iPad e-reader owners say they read newspapers and magazines as do all other e-reader owners,” according to the ChangeWave report.

Newspaper and magazine publishers, intrigued by the iPad, have made initial forays into the new platform, with varying degrees of success. Conde Naste, which publishes Gentleman’s Quarterly, recently reported selling 365 iPad editions of its December 2009 “Men of the Year” issue. Despite the minimal initial interest, the publisher said it will continue testing the iPad and looks forward to bigger profits. The New York Times Company, an early iPad supporter, is now engaged in an internal debate on how much to charge for an iPad subscription to the Grey Lady.

Wired, Vanity Fair, Glamour and The New Yorker are also expected to release iPad versions of their print publications over the next few months.

[via AppleInsider]

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