Not surprisingly, American teenagers are interested in acquiring the latest Apple gadget, due in part to the company's "cool factor." About 37 percent are looking to buy an iPhone in the next six months, while about 20 percent will shell out for the iPad, according to a new survey.
"Apple's dominance in the mobile and online music markets is going seemingly unchecked, coupled with rising interest in the iPhone and iPad," Piper Jaffray senior research analyst Gene Munster said in a note to investors this week.
Piper Jaffray polled about 4,500 high school students recently to determine their interest in Apple products. Their level of interest in the iPhone is at an all-time high of 37 percent, Munster said.
"We believe the teen demographic is a critical component of long-term growth in the mobile market, and Apple is taking its lead in music and leveraging it in the mobile category," he wrote.
About 17 percent of the teens surveyed already owned an iPhone, up from 14 percent six months ago. Another 22 percent already owned a tablet (or had one in their household), and 20 percent expected to buy a tablet in the next six months.
"We believe this is a positive for Apple given the iPad's dominant position in the tablet market," Munster wrote.
Earlier this week, Deutsche Bank analyst Chris Whitmore said that PC sales got off to a slow start this year due to the "greater than expected" cannibalization of the market by smartphones and tablets, particularly the Apple iPad.
On the music front, Apple still dominates in portable music players, with 86 percent of the teen market. The percentage of students with a standalone music player declined to a low of 80 percent, however, as most (about 53 percent) listen to music on their smartphones.
As a result, 77 percent of students download their music from the Web, but 65 percent opt for file-sharing networks instead of legal MP3 stores. Of those who do use legitimate music stores, about 95 percent buy from Apple's iTunes.
"With the addition of new features to iTunes software and the Ping social network we believe Apple is well-positioned to hold its lead and even extend it," Munster wrote. "Also, the App Store has likely been a driver for teens to use the iTunes Store for free apps, then look to purchase music in the music section of the store."
The survey did not go into whether the teens would be buying these gadgets themselves or asking mom and dad for the funds.