Apple commands the highest satisfaction rating of all tablet sellers among U.S. consumers -- along with the vast majority of sales and a high degree of loyalty among owners -- according to the new report from IHS iSuppli (http://www.ihs.com/).

To measure consumer satisfaction, U.S. tablet owners surveyed were asked how likely they would be to recommend their tablet to friends or family members. On a scale of 1 to 10, with 0 indicating the owner would not recommend it, 10 indicating the owner is very likely to recommend it, and 5 being neutral, iPad owners gave an average rating of 8.8 to their Apple iPads, the highest rating of all the 11 top-ranked brands mentioned by consumers surveyed.

More than 80% of Apple owners rated their tablet at eight or higher on the recommendation scale. Fewer than 1% gave a rating of less than five. 
In a surprise, China’s Shenzhen Zenithink Technologies, came in a close second at 8.75, although the overall sample for that model was comparatively small, while Samsung Electronics, with a much larger respondent sample, was third, scoring an average of 8.5.

“Apple’s competitors in the tablet market already are facing major challenges in offering products that can match the iPad’s combination of optimized hardware, software, operating system, applications, content and app store,” says Rhoda Alexander, director of monitor and tablet research at IHS. “Now they are facing the reality that consumers in the key U.S. market really love their iPads, with owners expressing satisfaction with Apple’s products in a variety of key measures. Owners not only said they would be more likely to recommend the iPad than a competing product, they also indicated that they will look to Apple for future tablet purchases. With the iPad dominating tablet sales in the United States and worldwide, this high level of consumer satisfaction commanded by Apple represents a major barrier to entry for new competitors.”

Among U.S. tablet owners surveyed, 79.2% indicated they possessed an Apple-branded product that was either an iPad or iPad 2. A full 61% of the U.S. owners surveyed said they would stick to the same brand for their next tablet purchase. More than half of owners indicated that they were considering a purchase, planning a purchase or would definitely purchase another tablet during the next 12 months.

These findings indicate that current owners are likely to continue buying iPad and iPad 2 devices in the future, helping Apple to maintain its market share advantage.
Among likely purchasers of tablets, more than 50% said they probably would buy an Apple-branded product. In this regard, Apple massively outperformed all the competition, with Dell coming in a distant second at just 11%.