iPad Continues to Dominate Tablet Purchasing Plans, Eating Into eReaders and Portable PCs

ChangeWave Research today released the results of a February survey of U.S. professionals and early-adopter consumers showing that even before the unveiling of the iPad 2 customers were continuing to turn to the iPad when considering tablet purchases. According to the report, 82% of surveyed customers who were planning to purchase a tablet were looking to acquire an iPad, with competitors such as the Motorola Xoom, Research in Motion BlackBerry PlayBook, and Samsung Galaxy Tab all barely registering in the 3-4% range each.

Apple's iPad also continues to enjoy stellar consumer satisfaction ratings, with 70% of users registering as "very satisfied" and an additional 25% pegging their position as "somewhat satisfied".

In taking a broader look at tablet customers' buying preferences, the survey also found that tablets, dominated by the iPad, continue to eat into planned purchases of devices such as eReaders and portable PCs, with 17% of tablet-owning respondents reporting that they put on hold or canceled the purchase of a Kindle because of their tablet purchase. Netbooks and traditional notebooks also took a hit, with 10-11% of tablet purchasers reporting that they had delayed or canceled planned purchases in each of those categories of devices.

Finally, ChangeWave surveyed customers planning to purchase an iPad in the near future about wireless service, finding that 24% of customers planned to purchase AT&T service, compared to 17% planning to use Verizon service and 27% opting for Wi-Fi only. An additional 30% were undecided. Notably, Verizon's solid appeal was present even before Apple unveiled the new iPad with built-in support for Verizon's network. With the original iPad, customers looking to use Verizon service have been limited to Wi-Fi iPad models paired with MiFi hotspot devices.