According to a survey of U.S. immigrants conducted last November, 13 percent of respondents own a tablet device and two-thirds of these tablet owners chose the iPad.
That may not seem too surprising given there weren’t too many other choices in the U.S. tablet market back then. More interesting, the survey, conducted by mobile VoIP company Rebtel, breaks down preferences from 11 different ethnic communities and measures the percent of which populations of immigrant callers are most likely to buy a tablet in the near future.
Rebtel says there are some wide disparities among the different demographics about whether or not they would buy a tablet in the near future. Ghanese (62percent) and Indian Americans (58percent) topped the list among immigrant populations looking to buy a tablet device, while Ethiopian (31percent) and French Americans (34percent) ranked last.
As of November, French Americans residing in the United States claimed the highest percentage of tablet owners (17 percent), followed by Mexican-Americans (15 percent), Nigerian-Americans, and Ghana-Americans at 14 percent, respectively, rounded out by Ethiopian-Americans at 8 percent and Cuban-Americans at 7 percent.
The study was conducted with a sample group of respondents comprised of Rebtel users divided into 11 different ethnic groups: Cuba, Ethiopia, France, Ghana, India, Israel, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Philippines and U.K. The results were based on 1,340 responses.
Of course, the immigrant population represents a majority of people who use Rebtel’s service to stay in touch with friends and family overseas. The study was geared to showing general consumer trends and mobile usage as opposed to tablets being voice-capable, which may become more common down the road.
Citing the U.S. Census Bureau, the company points out that the percentage of native-born people in the United States has fallen for four straight decades. In 2008, 12.5 percent of the population was born outside the United States, nearing the all-time highs of nearly 15 percent back in the late 1800s.
Concerning the highest percentage of respondents who said that they would most likely buy an iPad in the near future, 87percent of Kenyans claimed they would do so, with French immigrants coming in second at 81percent. The Kindle was a popular second choice as a tablet device, with 9 percent of the overall population saying they are most likely to buy it, with Ethiopian immigrants leading the way at 24 percent, the company says.
