English rules, iPad grows in online e-book community

On August 27, global e-book community Wattpad issued its latest metrics report, a frequently referenced international survey of e-reading habits. Among findings, the report notes a rapid acceptance of the iPad as an e-reading device and a high majority of US residents among English-language e-book consumers.

Wattpad is an international e-book community accessible via the web and through a mobile phone application that has been downloaded a reported five million times. The platform is available in more than two dozen languages, and the mobile app supports more than 1000 phone models from 600 operators worldwide. Users currently download a reported one million titles per month from a library of user-generated content and public domain works.

The Wattpad Q2 2010 metrics report notes a marked growth in the use of Apple and Android devices among users worldwide, with about a 25 percent increase since the third quarter of 2009. About 5 percent of those Apple devices are iPads, suggesting that the tablet has been quickly adopted as an e-reading device.

A growth in smartphone usage was observed in North America and Europe, while an increase in Java devices (56 percent more than in 2009) was found to come mainly from users in Asia.

Among e-books read using Wattpad, 38 percent were in English, followed by 36 percent in Vietnamese. Of the English-language titles, 69 percent were read by US readers, followed by the UK (14 percent), Australia (8 percent), and Canada (7 percent).

Read the full report: http://www.wattpad.com/metricsreport