Apple ranked highest in tablet owner satisfaction, followed closely by Amazon and Samsung

This is the J.D. Power and Associates 2013 U.S. Tablet Satisfaction StudySM--Volume 1.

Most notably to anyone speculating in the stock market is the fact that 94% of highly satisfied users are likely to purchase from the same manufacturer which is good news for both Apple and Amazon although Samsung is closing in as well. This follows the news that Apple is holding onto 48% of the tablet sales although that number is down 15% or so from last year due to competition from Android and Windows 8 tablets that continue to improve and offer better pricing and are more open to customization. Of course the poll sampled 1,857 people and we don't know anything about the people polled.

If you don't want to read it all, here are the highlights:

Tablet owners who also have a smartphone spend 36 percent more time browsing the Internet on their tablet than on their smartphone.

Twenty-seven percent of tablet owners say they are likely to buy a new tablet within the next 12 months, compared with 37 percent in 2012.

Ninety-four percent of highly satisfied tablet owners are likely to purchase additional consumer electronic devices from the same manufacturer.

As more households continue to adopt tablets, the act of sharing these devices has substantial influence on the purchase-decision process and on future brand selection, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2013 U.S. Tablet Satisfaction StudySM--Volume 1 released today.

Now in its second year, the study measures tablet owner satisfaction among those who have owned their tablet for one year or less. Satisfaction is measured across five key factors (in order of importance): performance (26%); ease of operation (22%); styling and design (19%); features (17%); and cost (16%).

The study finds that 51 percent of tablet owners share their device with at least one other person. While the incidence differs across brands, tablet manufacturers may benefit from promoting shared usage as a selling point, as satisfaction increases when more people use one tablet device. When a tablet is only used by one person, overall satisfaction is 824 (on a 1,000-point scale), 28 points lower than when a tablet is shared by four or more persons (852).

"It is somewhat unexpected to find that although 64 percent of tablet owners were the sole decision-maker involved in their device purchase, many of them share their tablet with someone else," said Kirk Parsons, senior director of telecommunications services at J.D. Power and Associates. "It is important that manufacturers understand this dynamic and try to provide an exceptional experience for all users since this may improve future business prospects, as high satisfaction through sharing a tablet device may result in owners handing down their tablet to a family member or friend, and the likelihood of repurchasing a new tablet from the same brand and running the same operating system increases."

In fact, 41 percent of tablet owners who share their device among four or more persons indicate they "definitely will" repurchase their next tablet from their current tablet manufacturer, compared with 28 percent among those who do not share their device with any other person. This shared usage is not limited to adults. Nearly one-half (46%) of tablet owners have children who also use their tablet. Among owners who indicate they share their device with children, 30 percent have downloaded education apps, compared with 16 percent among those who do not share their device with children.

Tablets are also being used for business activities, with 20 percent of owners indicating they use their tablet for this purpose. Owners of tablets that originally evolved from e-readers are not as likely to use their device to engage in business activity. While tablet owners are beginning to engage in business activities with their device, just 31 percent of employers contribute to the price or reimburse their employees for the entire tablet purchase price, a 3-percentage-point decrease from 2012. This may be an indication that some companies may be promoting a "bring your own device" (BYOD) strategy.

For the second consecutive study, Apple ranks highest among manufacturers of tablets in overall owner satisfaction. Apple achieves a score of 836 and performs well in four factors: performance; ease of operation; styling and design; and features. Amazon (829) closely follows Apple in the rankings and performs particularly well in the cost factor.

The 2013 U.S. Tablet Satisfaction Study--Volume 1 findings are based on experiences evaluated by 1,857 tablet owners. The study was fielded in February 2013.