iPod #1 in Japan
12.04.06 - 12:32pm
Back in February word was out on iPod mania in Japan with it taking 51.3% of the digital music player market as of the end of 2005. Word then was would it last?, with a bigger threat coming from the growing sophistication of mobile-phone based music in Japan. Cell phones are frequently discussed as potential iPod killers, and Japan’s carriers have been pushing the hardest to make that a reality.”
Even though the Apple iPhone has yet to hit the market, Japanese cell phone carriers still have not overcome the iPod in the digital music market. Steven Towns submits: The Apple (AAPL) iPod is extending its dominance of Amazon.com’s (Japan) top-seller ranking. Apple’s iPods are currently the hottest selling digital music player in Japan, controlling seven of the top ten spots. The shuffle is number one, the 2GB iPod Nano at number 2, the 3GB Nano at number 3, the 30 GB at number 5, the 8GB Nano at number six, the 4GB Nano at number 9 and the liscened 30GB at number 10.
For the week ended in Nov. 19th, Apple’s iPods commanded all ten of the top-10 sales ranking, according to Japanese consumer electronics research firm BCN. Combined, iPod’s top-10 performance accounted for 47.7% of sales for that week.
“Apple has focused on developing a seamless, end-to-end experience for the consumer when it comes to portable music,” says Jon Erensen, a senior research analyst at Gartner Dataquest. “Other companies, including the Japanese consumer-electronics giants, have been focused on one or two pieces of the equation.” Local rivals still have yet to match iPod’s sleek and hip design, easy to use functions, and first class software.
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