iPad leads in U.S. brand satisfaction

iPad leads in brand satisfaction among U.S. consumers, though a relatively obscure tablet maker came in a close second, according to IHS iSuppli.

Rivals face a steep challenge in the U.S. because consumers are fixated on Apple's tablet to the detriment of other brands, according to the "U.S. Tablet Consumer Preference" study released today by iSuppli.

"Apple's competitors in the tablet market already are facing major challenges in offering products that can match the iPad's combination of optimized hardware, software, operating system, applications, content and app store," Rhoda Alexander, an analyst at IHS iSuppli, said in a statement.

(Credit: IHS iSuppli)

On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 the highest rating, iPad owners gave an average rating of 8.8 for the iPad--the highest rating of the 11 brands, when asked how likely they were to recommend their tablet to friends or family members, iSuppli said. And more than 80 percent of iPad owners rated the tablet at 8 or higher on the recommendation scale.

And of those surveyed, 79.2 percent said they owned an Apple-branded product that was either an iPad or iPad 2, iSuppli said. And 61 percent said they would buy the same brand again.

One brand--clearly not a household name in the U.S.--was a surprise, however. China's Shenzhen Zenithink Technologies came in just below Apple at 8.75, though iSuppli qualified this a bit by saying the overall sample for Zenithink was small. Samsung Electronics, with a large respondent sample, was third, scoring an average of 8.5.

Overall, iSuppli believes this survey validates a previously-published forecast. "Apple will account for the majority of tablet sales through the year 2012 and...will remain the top-ranked seller of such devices at least through the year 2015," iSuppli said.