An iPad Rental Stunner: e-Readers Get the Last Laugh (For Now)

It seems that every dog has its day, and the hotly marketed tablet sector is about to experience a hound of a time. Data has come to light showing that e-readers are actually outperforming tablets.

The information comes to us compliments of Pew Internet & American Life Project, which just shared the results of a study that it conducted.

According to Pew, over the past six months, the number of individuals owning e-Readers has doubled, which is an impressive figure when compared to tablet sales.

Price points may have something to do with it, as most tablets are in the $500-800 range, and most e-Readers fall in the $100-200 range. It is a recession, people!

Whatever the case, e-Reader adaption is booming, while tablet adaption is slowing. We can’t hide from the numbers.

According to the Pew survey, at the time they gathered their results, about eight percent of their targets admitted to owning a tablet computer (iPad, Samsung Galaxy Tab, Motorola Xoom). That might not sound too shabby, except that the figure is only three percent higher than data gathered just seven months earlier. 

But e-Readers shouldn’t be casting any stones just yet. According to the Pew report, “[both]…e-book reader and tablet computer adoption levels among U.S. adults are still well below that of   other tech devices that have been on the market longer.  Cell phones are far and away the most popular digital device among U.S. adults today, followed by desktop and laptop computers, DVRs, and MP3 players.”

I wouldn’t write tablets off just yet -- the trend is there, and people want the sleekest, sexiest thing available. Kristen Purcell, the associate director of research at Pew, shared her thoughts on the trend. She said, “These are the newer, sexier devices that people are interested in.” Purcell then added, “It is younger adults, wealthier adults and college-educated adults who are adopting them.”

While we don’t rent e-Readers, we do carry a variety of the more popular tablets (in fact, our international iPad rental fleet is the largest in the world). So, if you need to take advantage of this technology for a short term business purpose, fill out a hassle-free FlexQuote.