ComScore released a study on attitudes and intentions toward the iPad and other e-readers. After browsing the internet and handling email, media-based applications rated highest.

"The tablet and e-reader market is developing at a breakneck pace right now, and Apple’s entry into the market is sure to accelerate mainstream consumer adoption," said Serge Matta, comScore executive vice president. "These devices have the potential to be incredibly disruptive to the way consumers currently access digital content."

The study showed the Amazon Kindle at the top of e-readers already owned, but more people were seriously considering buying an iPad in the next 3 months than the Kindle, Barnes & Noble Nook, Sony Reader, or Samsung Papyrus. Perhaps surprising to some is that when asked, "If you owned an iPad, how likely would you be to use the following features of activities on the device?" listening to music, reading books, watching videos, and reading newspapers/magazines were all listed as more likely uses than playing games--whether arcade, card games, and puzzles, or action, RPG's, and first-person shooters.

Over 50% of those who already had an iPhone or an iPod touch said they were willing to pay for newspaper and magazine subscriptions formatted for e-readers, compared to only 22 percent of those not currently purchasing apps from the Apple Store. And in a message to Apple about the importance of getting iPhone OS 4.0 out as soon as possible, the single most important device attribute consumers indicated they would like to have included in the iPad was the ability to use multiple applications at once.

Whether the iPad will shift gears after its initial release will be an interesting sight to see.