Firm Predicts US iPad Usage Will Double This Year

Research firm eMarketer is predicting that the number of iPad users will grow to 53.2 million this year. And by 2015 eMarketer argues that “more than one-third of all US internet users will have such a device.”

The fastest growth in the market is coming from the young and seniors, those under-12 and over 65. The “tablet” market overall is growing faster than the iPad, though iPads dominate the tablet market.

Earlier this year The Pew Internet & American Life Project released survey data showing that 19 percent of US adults owned tablets. Last week comScore released data asserting that roughly 24 percent of smartphone owners also have tablets.

The Pew data suggest there are roughly 42 million tablet owners in the US (as of January 2012). The comScore data argue the number is 55 million today.

A year ago in March an AdMob survey found that 77 percent of tablet owners were using their PCs less. In addition 28 percent of consumer-respondents said that the tablet had become their “primary computer.”