8% of U.S. Adults Own Tablet Devices

Eight percent of U.S. adults owned a tablet device in May, up from the 5 percent that reported having one in November 2010, according to research by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project.

Meanwhile, ownership of e-reader devices stood at around 12 percent, the research center said. Adoption of such devices continues to grow at a faster rate than tablets, having doubled from 6 percent market penetration in November of last year. In addition, hree percent of survey respondents reported owning both an e-reader and a tablet.

In terms of overall penetration, however, e-readers and tablets continue to lag behind devices such as cellphones and laptops. Of the 2,277 respondents Pew surveyed for the research, 83 percent reported owning the former, and 56 percent the latter. MP3 player ownership stood at around 44 percent, meanwhile.