Parks Associates’ report Media Tablets: Analysis and Forecasts shows the products at greatest risk of losing sales are other mobile Internet devices, including netbooks, notebooks, and e-readers. Tablets will also have significant impact on content publishing, including newspapers.

“One year after the launch of the Apple iPad, tablet adoption reached 13% of U.S. broadband households (approximately 10.5 million households), slightly below current netbook and e-reader adoption rates,” said Jennifer Kent, a Parks Associates’ mobile research analyst. “Mass adoption of tablets depends on consumers’ ability to differentiate them from similar CE, and devices that overlap with the tablet will struggle to remain relevant.”

The new report shows 26% of households planning to purchase a tablet in the first half of 2011 had originally planned to buy a laptop. Parks Associates estimates 16.8 million tablets were sold worldwide in 2010, with sales booming alongside subscriber growth in 3G and 4G networks.

“Digital publishers must take advantage of the tablet’s unique features and provide the user with an experience that goes beyond a digital copy of printed material,” said Harry Wang, Director, Mobile Research, Parks Associates. “This strategy requires investment in new digital publishing software that offers interactive features and improves reader engagement. Digital content publishers should also invest in digital advertising solutions and develop premium ad inventory that enables targeting, which will lead to more ad dollars.”

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