Tablet ownership currently outpaced by e-readers, but not for long

In a new report that suggests tablets have not yet reached the point of complete dominance in their sector, the Pew Internet Research Center recently announced that e-reader ownership adoption has outpaced that of tablets in the past six months.

Between November 2010 and May 2011, the number of U.S. adults who own e-readers doubled from 6 percent to 12 percent, while tablet ownership grew just 3 percent -- from 5 percent in November to 8 percent last month. Even more telling is that tablet growth was limited to the earlier portion of the time-frame, as tablet ownership stood at 7 percent in January 2011, Pew said.

Much of this can be attributed to price differentiation, as e-reader vendors have recently dropped in price while tablets have remained more expensive.

However, others in the industry do not anticipate this trend to remain on the same course for long. Market research firm In-Stat released a report earlier this month that predicted tablet shipments will outpace e-reader shipments by 2015. Stephanie Ethier, senior analyst with In-Stat, said "of the two, the tablet market is the stronger and more sustainable opportunity" because the devices feature e-reader applications in addition to web browsing and other computer functions.