US goes mad for tablets and e-readers: Will we be next?

According to US 'fact tank' Pew Internet, the number of Americans owning tablets or e-readers went from around to 10 per cent to almost 20 per cent over the Christmas period.

It's a massive jump, particularly as in the previous quarter the number of owners had hardly moved at all.

According to Pew, the reason is simple - and we're not about to argue: super cheap ereader/tablet devices from Amazon and Barnes & Noble have completely changed the market almost overnight.

Over the Christmas period in the States, versions of both the Barnes & Noble Nook and Amazon Kindle Fire fel below the crucial $100 barrier - that's less than £65 in English money. This brings them comfortably into the gift category, where people may well take a punt on an item they're not 100 per cent sure of.

In the UK, we weren't so lucky. Amazon.co.uk didn't even acknowledge the existence of the Fire, while you're still only able to get guide books and leather cases for the thing in the UK - not the device itself. The same goes for the Nook.

But with such high sales, and a massive market still to reach out to, it would seem unfeasible that these cheap e-reader/tablet PC hybrids won't make their way over the pond in 2012. However, news on a UK release of the Kindle Fire has not been forthcoming, despite obvious demand.

However, in a survey by website MyVoucherCodes announced this week, it claimed almost a quarter of respondents (22 per cent) who had received a Kindle for Christmas in the UK hadn't yet downloaded a book for it. Similarly, almost 10 per cent who received an iPad said the same thing.

People who like to read may seem to be obvious candidates to be bought a Kindle, but this misses the point that many of those same people actually love the physical books themselves as much as they love reading. As for iPads, teams of scientists are still working hard on finding an actual use for them beyond taking up space down the side of the sofa.