Amazon’s Kindle satisfies preferences identified by e-book readers in the United States, based on a recent survey released by Strategy Analytics. The survey reported that current e-book readers report a high level of satisfaction with their devices, and prefer e-books to physical or “dead tree” books. It also reported that e-book readers are looking for three things in their devices: ease of access to books, ease of content transfer, and newspaper and magazine availability. With more than 400,000 titles available to purchase and increased access to free content through services such as Scribd, Amazon offers superior content availability. In addition, Kindle has 107 newspapers and 50 magazines available for subscription, including most of the major US and international periodicals. Both the Kindle and Kindle DX can access Amazon’s bookstore with 60 second downloads.

The one unknown factor is the strength of Apple’s brand recognition. With its strong marketing strategy, buildin up hype prior to this month’s release of the iPad, Apple is betting on brand recognition to tip the balance in its favor.   While the survey reported that Apple ran a close second in terms of preferred brand, it also said content will still trump name recognition.

“While brand name is still an important factor for current owners when choosing their next e-book reader,” commented Chris Schreiner, Senior Analyst at Strategy Analytics. “Consumers buying their first e-book reader will focus more on the durability and availability of e-books.”

Strategy Analytics is an international research and consulting firm that specializes in the information, communication and entertainment industries.