Apple’s iPad Still King of the Mountain

Ever since Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) released the first generation of iPad in 2010, tablets have become an increasingly more popular choice for consumers shopping for a mobile computing device. A recent survey conducted by Frank N. Magid Associates revealed which models of tablets are the most popular in U.S. households.

Apple continued its dominance of the U.S. tablet market this year, with 59 percent of tablet owners using some iteration of Apple’s iPad or iPad mini. Amazon’s (NASDAQ:AMZN) Kindle Fire was the second most popular tablet, with 31 percent of respondents reporting ownership of this device. Samsung’s (SSNLF.PK) Galaxy tablet took the third-ranked spot with 19 percent of the market.

Microsoft’s (NASDAQ:MSFT) beleaguered Surface only managed to attract 5 percent of tablet buyers. Forty-four percent of the respondents in Magid’s survey reported owning at least one tablet, which is a 47 percent increase in market penetration over last year.  The total percentage of this survey exceeds 100 percent because many household reported owning more than one tablet device.

Another recent survey conducted by the Pew Internet & American Life Project examined tablet ownership in various demographic groups. The study found that tablet ownership among Americans 18 and older has nearly doubled since last year, with 34 percent of American adults owning a tablet compared to 18 percent last year.

Although mobile device ownership is often associated with a younger demographic, the survey found that tablet ownership was highest in the 30 to 49 age group with a 44 percent penetration. Pew’s survey also found that tablet ownership by users with incomes below $30,000 jumped from 10 percent to 20 percent. This is likely due to the many low-cost Android-based tablet options now available on the market.

However, it appears that Apple remains the biggest beneficiary of the tablet market’s continued growth since the Cupertino-based company still dominates the overall market. Here’s how Apple traded yesterday.

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