35% of UK consumers would buy a tablet instead of a laptop

The debate over whether the tablet is set to kill the notebook market, or at least hamper it severely, rages on, with the latest shell fired being some research conducted by online shopping comparison website Kelkoo.

Earlier this month, research from NPD in the States indicated that the iPad wasn’t cannibalising the laptop market, as had been previously stated by Best Buy, with the retailer claiming that notebook sales had more or less halved since the launch of the iPad.

NPD said this didn’t appear to be the case, with only 13% of the iPad owners the outfit surveyed saying they purchased the device instead of a notebook.

However, Kelkoo’s findings in the UK has returned the result that a much bigger figure, 35% of consumers, are planning to buy a tablet instead of a laptop.

The Kelkoo survey also revealed that 54% of consumers would consider getting themselves a slate, and a third of that number are planning to do so within the next six months.

Then the company asked the million dollar question of which tablet people were going to buy. The iPad came home the clear winner with 69% saying they would plump for an Apple slate.

Samsung’s Galaxy Tab, which comes out on Monday, was second with 15%, and the BlackBerry PlayBook has evidently created some buzz, as it was third on 11% (despite the fact that it won’t be out until Q2 2011 over here).

While 35% of those who chose the Galaxy Tab said they did so due to its more compact size and portability (it’s a 7 inch tablet), 80% of those questioned overall said they’d prefer a 10 inch screen to a 7 inch display. Which backs up those comments Steve Jobs made at the recent Apple earnings call.