Apple’s iPad tablet has received the highest satisfaction rating of all tablet sellers among US consumers, according to the new IHS iSuppli US Tablet Consumer Preference study from information and analysis provider IHS.
The study presented data on 1,404 end-user surveys conducted during the spring of 2011.
US tablet owners were asked if they would recommend their tablet to friends or family members, to measure consumer satisfaction.
In a scale of 1 to 10, Apple iPad owners ranked their Apple iPads an 8.8, the highest rating of all the 11 top-ranked brands, and more than 80% of Apple owners rated their tablet at 8 or higher, while fewer than 1% gave a rating of less than 5.
The study reveals that owners also indicated that they will look to Apple for future tablet purchases.
Further, the high level of consumer satisfaction commanded by Apple represents a major barrier to entry for new competitors, and already Apple’s competitors in the tablet market are facing major challenges in offering products that can match the iPad’s combination of optimised hardware, software, operating system, applications, content and app store, the research firm said.
Second on the list is China’s Shenzhen Zenithink Technologies Company coming at 8.75, although the overall sample for that model was comparatively small, followed by Samsung Electronics with 8.5, and and fourth is Archos and Motorola which both scored 8.4 points.
Among US tablet owners surveyed, 79.2% owned an Apple-branded product that was either an iPad or iPad 2, and 61% said they would stick to the same brand for their next tablet purchase.
More than 50% of tablet owners said they would buy an Apple-branded product, while Dell came in second at 11% in this category.
These findings indicate that current owners are likely to continue buying iPad and iPad 2 devices in the future, helping Apple to maintain its market share advantage.
IHS forecasts that Apple will account for the majority of tablet sales through 2012, and will remain a top-ranked seller at least through 2015.
