In the IDC survey, 35% said they own an iOS tablet; 26.4% said they owned a tablet running standard Android; 10% said they owned a custom Android tablet like a Kindle Fire; 9.4% said they owned a Windows tablet and 0.7% owned a Windows RT tablet. More than 14% said they didn't know the OS on their tablet.

The survey also asked tablet owners if they had a chance to buy a tablet again, would they buy one with the same OS. The iOS owners were most likely to say yes (80.2%), followed closely by Windows owners (78.9%); standard Android owners were third (70%), and custom Android owners were 68%.

Mainelli said the lower values for owners who would buy both kinds of Android again are likely a reflection of the many varieties of Android tablets on the market, some priced as low as $79 for a white box version and others from various vendors priced close to the iPad with Retina display at $499. Google's Nexus 10 16 GB tablet running pure Android sells for $399.

"People who own the higher-end Androids probably have a similar affinity for them as do iOS owners," he said. But Mainelli said he was somewhat surprised by the high affinity for Windows. "Those owning Windows have a strong inclination to buy one again, right below Apple," he noted.

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