NPD: music, not apps, dictating iPhone and iPod use
updated 02:20 pm EDT, Tue August 31, 2010
NPD says iPhone and iPod buys still about music
Despite stereotypes, music still the dominant factor in how iPhone and iPod touch owners use their devices, the NPD Group discovered. While "virtually all" have downloaded a free app at some point, 82 percent have been willing to pay for music; 56 percent have only ever bought songs from the store. When they search, most are looking for music and not apps.
Music sales have slowed down, NPD VP Russ Crupnick said, but apps have been a "distraction" and aren't taking away from a primary focus on music. The researchers did see money in apps, as 69 percent of those who hadn't bought an app were considering it, but most of the money remained in audio.
Apps have been considered a benchmark of the race between Android and iPhone, with Apple having both more apps and more successful developers where most Android apps are free. However, the new findings imply that many iPhone and particularly iPod touch buyers get their devices with music as at least a major factor.
