About WAS -------------------------------------------------------------------- A few stats and numbers released today underscore the dominance that the Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) iPad has among those that have purchased media tablets to date. They also show that tablets use is, as suspected, encroaching on time spent on other devices. That gives another strong reason for why companies like Acer and Sony (NYSE: SNE) see tablets as a must in their product portfolios. The research, from Nielsen, found that despite strong competition from Android-based devices like the Samsung Galaxy Tab and Motorola’s Xoom, iPad has conceded relatively little market share so far. Some 82 percent of tablet-owners said they owned an iPad. The research was conducted in spring 2011, says Nielsen. Other findings: —Single users outnumber sharing users: Unlike the quintessential “family computer”, households are reporting more single-user devices (50 percent) than they are devices that are shared among more than one person (43 percent). Some eight percent of respondents said they owned a tablet, but it was used by others in the house. (Eager children/hopeful but luddite parents?) —Use of other devices being impacted: Nielsen’s findings seem to confirm the suspicion that the rise of tablets will affect usage of other devices. Among laptop owners, 32 percent say they are using them less or not at all; among desktop PC owners, the number is even higher, at 35 percent. e-Readers are not immune, either: 27 percent report using those devices less or not at all, while 25 percent of portable games device owners said they were using those devices less, too.