Just three years after first iPad’s debut, 34% of Americans own tablets

Sometimes it’s hard to believe that tablets have only been around for a little more than three years. The New York Times reports that the latest numbers from the Pew Research Center show that 34% of all Americans over the age of 18 own a tablet, or nearly double the 18% share who owned tablets in April 2012. The Times notes that tablet adoption is growing fastest among “more affluent households making over $75,000 a year, college graduates as well as adults between the ages of 35 to 44, especially parents.” With tablet shipments expected to eclipse notebook shipments by the end of 2013, it’s not surprising that tablet adoption has surged over the last year and will likely only increase as users opt to buy them over more expensive PCs going forward.