Apple iPhone, Android smartphones driving e-reading

Smartphones, not Kindles, are the most popular devices for e-reading in the United States, according to a study from Wattpad—which has found big readers in Apple iPhone and Android owners.

The increasing adoption of smartphones, particularly of the Apple iPhones and Android-running handsets, is helping to drive e-book consumption, according to an Aug. 26 report from e-book service Wattpad.

Analyzing a snapshot of user habits from 600 mobile operators across 160 countries, the e-book application company, which facilitates 1 million downloads per month, found that it is hardly just dedicated e-readers enabling the e-book trend. During the second quarter, e-book downloads by the Apple family of products—that would be iPhones, iPads and iPods—grew by 23 percent, compared to 9 percent during the first quarter.

A closer look at this group found that the iPad, since its April launch in the United States, has grown to account for 5 percent of Apple usage, while various iPhone models account for 46 percent and iPods for 49 percent. Taking a world view, Americans are by far Wattpad’s biggest user group, accounting for 54 percent of those using their iPhone for e-reading, followed by readers in Spain—who during the second quarter accounted for 10 percent of the pie, passing iPhone e-readers in the United Kingdom, who accounted for 8 percent.

Full report here e-week