The Apple/Samsung rivalry has endured for some time now, both in and out of courtrooms, and their tussle on the tablet front is now closer than ever.

A report released back in April narrowly ranked iPad first ahead of Amazon, with Samsung, Asus, and Acer all turning in scores below the rating firm's "industry average."

Today's J.D. Power tablet report has put Samsung on top however, a mere two points ahead of Apple (835 to 833) and now ranking Amazon's Kindle well below average and putting Samsung on top.

Apple's iPad beat Samsung in performance, ease of use, physical design and in tablet features, while Samsung won out in the cost category with five points to Apple's two.

Samsung was the only manufacturer to improve across all five factors, while Acer was the lowest ranked company with a well-below average score of 781. The average was 821.

The organisation that released the report, J.D. Power, said whether a tablet is purchased online or from a retail store, price, device information, brand and model selection greatly influence overall customer satisfaction.

Prior to purchasing their tablet, 50% of consumers rely on recommendations from friends, family members or colleagues, while 49% gather information from the manufacturer's website. These sources are followed by brand reputation (42%) and past experience with the brand (32%).

"Whether consumers prefer the online channel for competitive pricing compared with the tactile retail store experience, effectively matching owner needs with the appropriate tablet model during the purchase process goes a long way in positively influencing overall satisfaction," said Kirk Parsons, senior director of telecommunications services at J.D. Power.

Parsons said the 2013 U.S. Tablet Satisfaction Study Volume 2 was based on experiences evaluated by 3,375 tablet owners who have owned their current device for less than one year. The study was fielded between March and August 2013.

Check out the report for yourself here.