Read all about it! Device owners read more books, magazines and newspapers

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People who own digital reading devices such as Amazon.com’s Kindle, the Sony Reader and Apple’s iPad spend more time on books, magazines and newspapers than folks without those gadgets, according to a poll by the Harrison Group.

Tablet and e-reader owners between 18 and 64 years old reported spending 50% more time reading magazines. Users of tablets such as the iPad said they spent nearly 75% more time reading newspapers and 25% more time reading books.

Those who own dedicated reading devices such as the Kindle spend 50% more time reading newspapers and 45% more time reading books, according to the poll.

Where does all that time come from? People evidently are watching 25% less television and spending 20% to 30% less time cruising the Web, according to the online survey of 1,816 U.S. consumers.

Granted, the findings conveniently fit with the agenda of the two companies that commissioned the survey -- Zinio, a San Francisco start-up that sells magazines on tablet devices, and Qualcomm, a San Diego technology company that makes semiconductors and displays for digital readers.

But these are dark days for content publishers, and the survey offers a rare glimmer of hope. Tablet and digital-reader owners are more willing to pay for electronic books and periodicals. Between 82% and 86% say they’d be willing to pay, compared with 62% of the overall population.

What about people who don’t own a device? Don’t worry; about 13% said they plan to buy one in the next 12 months, according to the survey.

“It appears that tablet-based devices and eReaders have already become critical components of the personal technology suite,” said Jim Taylor, vice chairman of Harrison Group.

-- Alex Pham
Twitter.com/@AlexPham