Hasta La Gadget!

Is Apple’s iPad eating into PC sales? Not according to NPD–at least not significantly. A survey by the research group found that only 13 percent of those who purchased an iPad did so instead of buying a computer. That’s compared to 24 percent who bought Apple’s tablet in place of a dedicated eBook reader.

Those relatively early adopters who picked up Apple’s tablet are likely aware that the thing isn’t intended to be a full-on desktop or laptop replacement, but rather the “third screen” that Jobs drove home when he first introduced the product last January. The question, however, was whether consumers would be putting off purchasing a replacement for their three, four, or five year old PC, in favor of picking up the iPad.

Less surprising in the study is the fact that a healthy percentage–48 percent–of iPad owners also owned a Mac desktop or laptop. Fifty-three percent of iPad owners, according to the numbers, had a Windows machine at home–that’s versus 75 percent in the overall computer-owning community.