iPad turns heads of some e-reader owners

More than a quarter of current e-reader owners wish they'd waited for the iPad, according to a new consumer survey.

The ChangeWave survey of more than 3000 consumers was conducted in February and asked current e-reader owners if they would have purchased their current e-reader device if the iPad had been available at the time. While 45% surveyed said they would have bought the same e-reader they currently own, 27% said they would have purchased the iPad. Another 30% said they weren't sure.

The survey also asked those planning to buy an e-reader in the next 90 days which device they’d be choosing. A 40% majority said they’d be buying an iPad, while 28% planned to buy a Kindle, 6% planned to buy a Nook and 1% planned to buy a Sony Reader.

Though the device will surely take a bite out of the market share of other e-reader devices, when the survey asked potential iPad customers what features on the device they were most interested in, reading eBooks placed third. 68% of potential buyers said they were interested in using the device for surfing the Internet, while 44% said they were interested in checking email and 37% were interested in reading eBooks.

Still, traditional e-reader manufacturers know they have to compete, and Amazon’s Kindle is rumoured to be getting Internet access and a more robust app store in future versions.

Because the iPad offers a scope of features and isn’t seen solely as an e-reader, one analyst told Electronista that in a matter of months the iPad could shatter Kindle’s all-time sales record of three million devices.

There’s no question about the massive amount of excitement leading up to the iPad’s launch, and Apple’s US shares were at an all-time high last week, but only time will tell if the device will be the smash hit so many are predicting.