Metrics company Nielsen says that almost two thirds of iPad owners have paid for content for their device, with customers also spending more time with apps than users of other platforms. While 63 percent of respondents have downloaded a paid app, 32 percent have not downloaded any apps at all. In addition, 5 percent of users have only downloaded free products. Users of the iPad are also more likely to engage in usage sessions of 30-minutes upward when compared with iPhone owners.

In comparison with iPhone users, iPad buyers are more likely to buy “print” and video products – in the categories of books, TV shows, movies and magazines, iPad use is higher as a percentage of the user base than for the iPhone. Owners of the smartphone prefer radio, news and music content, in contrast.

Tablet users are also more likely to share a device than smartphone owners: 46 percent of tablet owners say they do this, compared with 34 percent for smartphones – although gaming device (62 percent) and media player owners (55 percent) are more social still.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the tablet owners are still the preserve of the early adopter: 48 percent of tablet owners categorise themselves as such, compared with 30 percent for smartphones. Reflecting this, 65 percent of iPad owners are male and 63 percent under 35; although owners of Amazon’s Kindle eBook reader tend to be better educated: 57 percent of Kindle owners have a bachelors degree or higher, compared with 51 percent for the iPad.

Earlier this week, Edward Kershaw, VP of Mobile Media, EMEA at Nielsen, noted that iPad users are “far more mobile than they are sedentary,” despite their preference for long-form entertainment content.