Tablet ownership doubles over holidays

The number of tablet computer owners in the United States nearly doubled during the 2011 holiday season, as now almost 1 in 5 American adults owns such a mobile device, according to a study from the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project.

Tablet ownership increased from 10 percent of American adults in December to 19 percent in January. This represents one of the biggest jumps in the technology's history and could be seen as the reigniting of a market that was somewhat stagnant throughout the fall.

The obvious catalyst for this growth is holiday gift-giving. According to Pew, instead of one tablet model dominating the holiday shopping season, as many as three devices proved popular.

E-reader ownership also increased during this time by the same margin -- growing from 10 percent of US adults to 19 percent. Both technologies appear to be most popular with people between the ages of 30 and 49 years old, as well as those that earn an annual income of $75,000 or more.

Tablet ownership will only increase going forward as more devices are introduced to the market. Experts predict that as tablets become more diverse, market share will be spread more evenly.