Fifteen percent of people surveyed said they are "seriously considering" buying an iPad in the next three months - a slightly higher number than those saying they will buy an Amazon Kindle, according to a new report by comScore. Meanwhile, of the consumers who currently own an iPhone or iPod Touch are "more than twice as willing to pay for newspaper and magazine subscriptions formatted for e-readers" than those who don't own either device, according to the report, PoynterOnline reported today.

The April 3 release of the iPad is pushing publishers to quickly develop new strategies for the device, with more than 27,000 book apps in Apple's App Store at the last count, the Sydney Morning Herald reported. However, Fairfax Media's marketing and newspaper sales director told the SMH that finding a market for an app isn't as easy as it may seem.

"It's clear at this early stage that the people who succeed with apps will be those who can provide major exposure in other media outlets to generate awareness to generate the sales," Robert Whitehead told the SMH. "With 150,000 apps on the App store, for example, they don't just sell themselves."

Consumers are also expected to use the iPad mostly for surfing the Internet and checking e-mail, not downloading apps, according to the comScore survey, CNet News pointed out.

Just 26 percent of people planning to purchase an iPad siad they are likely to download apps, and 36 percent said they are unlikely to do so.

Yet the opportunity to sell content on the device is something publishers must take seriously.

"While only time will tell exactly how consumer behaviour will change, our research suggests that not only will a variety of markets be impacted by the introduction of these devices but also that there are substantial opportunities for those in the digital content ecosystem," said Serge Matta, comScore's executive vice president, according to MediaGuardian.