A visitor plays with a tablet PC at the Intel booth during the Computex 2011 computer fair at the TWTC Nangang exhibition hall in Taipei
Ninety percent of the US consumers either own a tablet or opt for one in the future REUTERS/Pichi Chuang

A new study by technology giant Samsung has revealed that more than 85 percent of US consumers, aged 18 and above, either own a tablet or are planning to purchase one.

The company, in a statement, said tablets are slowly becoming a “must-have” device and nearly every American either has a tablet or is planning to get one in the future.

The study showed that a little over 75 percent people acquire the device either to watch the news or to read online e-books. About 64 and 61 percent use the device to watch movies and listen to music respectively. Over 55 percent use it to update their social-networking profiles.

A similar study conducted by market researcher Nielsen showed that 70 percent of tablet owners and 68 percent of smartphone owners said they use their devices while watching television, compared to only 35 percent of eReader owners.

US consumers, according to a more intense study, have been searching for tablets developed by RIM, Acer, Toshiba, Viewsonic and ASUS, said a report by the Independent.

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