Digital device owners spend more time reading, survey says

People who own digital reading devices such as Amazon.com Inc.’s Kindle, Sony Corp.’s Reader and Apple Inc.’s iPad spend more time on books, magazines and newspapers than folks without those gadgets, according to a poll by Harrison Group.

Tablet and e-reader owners ages 18 to 64 reported spending 50% more time reading magazines. Users of tablets such as the iPad said they spent nearly 75% more time reading newspapers and 25% more time reading books.

Those who own dedicated reading devices such as the Kindle spend 50% more time reading newspapers and 45% more time reading books, according to the poll.

Where does all that time come from? People evidently are watching 25% less television and spending 20% to 30% less time cruising the Web, according to the online survey of 1,816 U.S. consumers.

Granted, the findings conveniently fit with the agenda of the two companies that commissioned the survey — Zinio, a San Francisco start-up that sells magazines on tablet devices, and Qualcomm Inc., a San Diego technology company that makes semiconductors and displays for digital readers.

But these are dark days for content publishers, and the survey offers a rare glimmer of hope. Owners of tablets and digital readers are more willing to pay for electronic books and periodicals, with 82% to 86% saying they’d be willing to pay for the digital materials, compared with 62% of the overall population.

What about people who don’t own a device? Don’t worry; about 13% said they plan to buy one in the next 12 months, according to the survey.

“It appears that tablet-based devices and e-readers have already become critical components of the personal technology suite,” said Jim Taylor, vice chairman of Harrison Group.

alex.pham@latimes.com