Apple products now in over half of American homes

Apple's new iPad is off to a red hot start and it's yet another sign of people's insatiable desire for Apple products. According to CNBC's All-America Economic survey, 51 percent of US households now own at least one Apple device - that's 55 million homes which may have an iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, Mac or Macbook.

While the average household has 1.6 Apple devices, the survey noted that most Americans who own one Apple product tend to own three, and almost one-quarter of those surveyed plan to buy one more Apple device in the next year. It's a testament to the brand loyalty that Apple has generated.

"It's a fantastic business model - the more of our products you own, the more likely you are to buy more," said Jay Campbell, vice president of Hart Research Associates, which conducted the CNBC survey along with Bill McInturff. "Planned obsolescence has always been a part of the technology industries sales model, but Apple has taken it to a whole new level."

The survey also revealed that Apple buyers are typically young, college-educated males, and of course, the more money a person earns, the more likely he/she will buy more Apple devices. 28 percent of those making less than $30,000 a year own at least one device, while that figure jumps to 77 percent for those making more than $75,000.