Pew Research Center has found that the number of Americans owning tablets shot up by 10 percent to 19 percent between mid-December and early January, nearly doubling the number of tablet owners during the holiday season. The number of people owning digital-reading devices, which includes tablets, also jumped from 18 percent to 29 percent in the same period.

Pew said that a lot of credit should be given to the lower-priced Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet for getting more tablets into people's hands, but Apple is certainly no slouch here either. Supplier data shows that Apple could post its best quarter ever when it releases its latest earnings on Tuesday, and more people adopting an iPad over the holidays will certainly add to that.

[Via Electronista]