E-readers and Tablets Could Become This Decade's MP3 Players, Says BCG Survey

E-readers and tablets are poised to become wildly popular and successful consumer devices, according to a recent Boston Consulting Group (BCG) consumer preference survey of nearly 13,000 consumers in 14 countries, including China, India, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The global consulting firm found that 28 percent of all respondents-and 51 percent of those familiar with the devices-plan to purchase an e-book reader or tablet computer within the next year. And given a three-year time frame, those percentages increase to 49 percent and 73 percent, respectively.