ComScore (http://www.comscore.com), a company that "measures the digital world," has released the results of a U.S. study of iPad owners, based on data from the comScore MobiLens service. Initial research indicates that Apple's iOS platform has a combined platform reach of 37.9 million among all mobile phones, tablets and other such connected media devices, outreaching the Android platform by 59%.

The report includes comScore's first publicly available data showing demographics and other characteristics of users of connected media devices, such as the iPad and iPod touch. The installed base of iPhones slightly exceeded that of iPod touches, both of which were approximately twice as high as the number of iPads.

Interestingly, among the 37.9 million consumers with access to the Apple iOS, only 4 million (10.5%) accessed the platform via more than one device. The combined 37.9 million iOS users is 59% greater than the 23.8 million combined Android OS installed base, which includes users of both Android phones and connected media devices such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab.

"This data clearly illustrate the Apple ecosystem extends far beyond the iPhone," says Mark Donovan, comScore senior vice president of mobile. "Though it's frequently assumed that the Apple user base is composed of dedicated Apple 'fanboys', there's not a tremendous amount of overlapping mobile device access among these users. This of course has significant implications for the developer community as they consider the market potential in developing applications for different mobile platforms."

The research also suggests that iPad ownership extends well beyond Apple's most fervent consumers. Although a perception may exist that iPad owners tend to be those with a very strong affinity for Apple products, an analysis of the mobile devices of iPad owners indicates that may not be the case. While Apple is indeed the most heavily represented OEM [original equipment manufacturer] among iPad owners, its OEM share (27.3%) is only slightly higher than its share among all smartphone subscribers (25.2%).

RIM accounts for the second highest percentage of iPad owners at 17.5%, but this number is well below its overall smartphone market share of 28.9%. Meanwhile, Samsung, LG and Nokia are all significantly overrepresented among iPad owners as compared to their respective shares of the smartphone market. In addition, 14.2% of iPad users had Android phones.

The age profile of iPad users indicated the heaviest skew toward 25-34 year olds (27%) in relation to the total mobile audience (17.6%). iPads also exhibited significantly above average skews in the 18-24 year old and 35-44 year old segments. However, this demographic profile was similar to that of the overall smartphone user base, indicating that the advanced mobile capabilities rather than the device itself might be primary driver behind this age profile, accoring to comScore.