New NPD data has once again given the Xbox 360 the lead in console sales in the US during January, but in grim conditions. At 270,000 systems in the month, it had enough to outpace the Nintendo Wii and Sony PS3, whose sales researchers were keeping secret. However, its performance was noticeably worse than a year ago, where it had moved 381,000 systems.
The iPhone is now the top-selling cellphone of any kind in the US, the NPD Group determined on Monday. As of the fall, the iPhone 4S was the bestselling device in the field. Apple also managed a clean sweep of the top three, with the iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS at second and third places.
NPD researchers on Monday took a gamble with a belief that tablet demand would explode over the next five years. It saw the category swelling from 72.7 million in 2011 by about 5.3 times to reach 383.3 million in 2017. Almost half of those, 46 percent, would go to developing countries as prices came down.
Netflix saw the fuller consequences of its more controversial decisions on Wednesday with results from the fall. The company added more streaming customers than it expected, 220,000, but the "continued impact" of its price hike for those keeping DVDs and streaming led to it shedding 2.76 million disc subscriptions. These, along with the costs of expansion outside of the US, dragged Netflix's profit down 13 percent year over year to $41 million.
Tablets will grow rapidly enough over the next five years to be nearly as important as notebooks, the NPD Group's DisplaySearch wing said in an unusually long-term estimate. Determining that tablets will have grown 256 percent this year where notebooks would be up just 12 percent, it predicted a quick enough pace that there would be 383.3 million tablets shipped in 2017. While notebooks would be up to 432 million in this view, they would no longer have the clear advantage.
The NPD Group in a rare step began tracking some of the contributions of non-traditional gaming to the industry for the first time. It estimated that about $1.64 billion came from "other content," which includes mobile games as well as direct downloads and social network games, generated $1.64 billion in revenue. The growth made it larger than the traditional software side of the business, which dropped to $1.3 billion
Smartphones are now responsible for more than a quarter of the photos and videos people take in the US, new NPD studies suggest. About 27 percent of shots taken in 2011 came from a smartphone, whether it was an iPhone, Android, or other device. Dedicated cameras, meanwhile, dropped from 52 percent down to 44.
An NPD Group look back at most of 2011 has shown the sheer change in the smartphone business in the past year. Android was now the majority, having climbed from 42 percent in all of 2010 to 53 percent from the start of 2011 through October. Despite the pressure, though, Apple too grew share the entire year and actually grew at a faster relative rate, bouncing back from a dip to 21 percent in 2010 to a new high of 29 percent by this October.
New NPD data has shown runaway gaming hardware sales in November that could signal a minor revival in the face of iOS gaming. Nintendo saw a resurgence as it moved 795,000 3DS units in the US during the month, or about double what it has in recent months. It still managed to sell 350,000 DSi systems, leading it to about 1.15 million handheld gaming systems in one month.
Holiday sales may be the worst since 2008 through a combination of the economy and technology, NPD Group VP Stephen Baker said Friday. Along with anxiousness over the economy, categories that were once key to sales, such as dedicated cameras, GPS units, and MP3 players were all expected to face "significant" declines. Although not directly stated, all of the categories were those covered by smartphones, reducing the need to buy separate devices.
During the last quarter in the US market, about 22 percent of all smartphones sold supported 4G networks, the NPD Group found. This is a huge jump from last year's quarter, which saw only three percent of all smartphones be 4G capable. The growth is no doubt due to the added number of available 4G services and devices, such as Verizon's LTE network.
Microsoft claimed one of the longer unbroken video game console sales streaks in recent memory as the Xbox 360 was once more the top-selling console in the US, according to NPD data. August sales bounced back from July's low point and hit 306,000 of the systems. Nintendo added that the 3DS price cut made a meaningful impact and saw sales jump to 235,000, about 185,000 of which were after the August 12 drop to $170.
New NPD data unveiled Monday night showed the video game business at a rare low with Microsoft getting the most benefits. Although it hesitated to give full numbers, it had the combined hardware and software sales in May at their lowest point since October 2006 based on a "light slate of new releases" led mostly by LA Noire and Brink. The Xbox 360 was the top system of the batch at 270,000 units and was up 28 percent, making up 34 percent of the revenue, while the Wii's continued fall was the primary drag on the industry.
Microsoft took its own turn at driving computer sales with a new promo. Anyone buying a Windows 7-based PC worth $699 or higher will get an Xbox 360 Arcade 4GB system for free without needing a rebate. Online shops for Microsoft and other PC builders will give the Xbox to anyone buying using a .edu e-mail address, but Best Buy and Microsoft Stores will take student IDs.
New data from comScore for this past March has pointed to Apple nearly passing RIM in smartphone market share for the US. Shipping 18.65 million iPhones helped Apple gain half a point since December to hit 25.5 percent share in its home country. The BlackBerry fell almost five points in the same space of time, dropping to 27.1 percent and close enough that Apple could pass it in the spring.
The launch of the Verizon iPhone 4 in the winter not only helped Apple gain status in the US but saw Android share decline for the first time in two years, the NPD Group found on Thursday. Apple was now the third-largest phone maker of any type in the US at 14 percent, slipping only behind basic phone specialists Samsung (23 percent) and LG (18 percent). The iPhone jumped nine points in smartphones to 28 percent, but Android had slipped from a record high 53 percent smartphone sales in the fall to 50 percent spread across its several manufacturers.
New NPD data in a research note later on Monday from Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster suggested that the new MacBook Pro may have pushed Apple well ahead in growth in the computer market. March sales in the US were estimated to be up 47 percent compared to a year earlier following the much faster line's introduction in late February. The growth came after more modest but still healthy 20 percent and 12 percent year-to-year increases in January and February.
Microsoft's Xbox 360 has maintained its leading position in console sales for March, continuing a trend that traces back through the holidays, according to numbers published by research firm NPD Group. The company is said to have sold 433,000 units in March, exceeding the January sales numbers by more than 50,000 units.
Netflix now has a dominant share of the online video on demand business, according to new NPD data. The subscription streaming service has 61 percent of all the movies downloaded or streamed in January and February. Apple, despite iTunes' reputation, was at just four percent and tied with both DirecTV and Time Warner Cable.
Nintendo on Friday posted results showing a significant slump in console sales from year to year that are likely to have been affected by the iPod touch and iPhone. It shipped 2.5 million DS systems in December, according to NPD data, representing a steep 24 percent drop from the 3.31 million last year. The company claimed to have the best portable console sales of 2010 but was counting rivals like the Sony PSP and not multi-role handhelds.
Microsoft backed up earlier guesses tonight and said it blew away expectations with 1.9 million Xbox 360s sold in December. The NPD-sourced data made it the best-ever month for the game console. Its total sales were also up a sharp 42 percent from year to year and made it the only console to see its numbers grow over 2009.
Microsoft's Xbox Live Programming Director Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb warned in the past day that there were once again Xbox 360 shortages following the holidays this year. The console ran out of stock at the end of December and will have prevented Microsoft from beating Nintendo's Wii in the NPD sales charts. Supply in January and February would be "tight as well," he added.
The launch of the iPad almost single-handedly drove the rise of large touchscreens this year, the NPD Group's DisplaySearch found today. About 6.3 million touchscreens large enough for tablets and touch-aware netbooks shipped in the first half of 2010, but the rise of the iPad and relatively minor contributions from the Samsung Galaxy Tab will have boosted that number to about 20 million for the second half. Although declining to mention Apple by name, the researchers noted that key iPad supplier Wintek produced the "majority" of the large touchscreen hardware for the year.
Research firm NDP says that consumers are now paying more for PCs, reversing a downward trend over the past few years according to a report. Computer prices rose by 6 percent in November, bucking a trend towards lower prices for other consumer technology such as HD TVs and digital cameras. Last year consumers were paying an average price of $580 for computers, but this increased to $615 this year.
The NPD today warned that technology sales during the holidays could be especially bleak. Industry Analysis VP Stephen Baker said estimates were looking "increasingly dark" and blamed it mostly on the culture behind the companies themselves. Price was a primary reason, as he accused companies of focusing too heavily on price and encouraging a culture that assumed it would get perpetually lower device prices, even when it wasn't realistic.
The NPD Group today found that the iPad was having a mild but significant impact on computer sales. While the effect wasn't as large as expected, about 13 percent of iPad buyers had picked one instead of a computer. The relatively low cannibalization was attributed to many buyers still being early adopters that bought the Apple tablet simply because they wanted it. That figure could change once the iPad was more established, the researchers said.
Best Buy chief Brian Dunn tonight reversed course on claims that the iPad cut notebook sales in half at his stores. In a statement, he did see "shifts in consumption patterns" towards the Apple tablet but characterized it more as an "incremental opportunity" than the market redefining shift it was first thought to be. He didn't accuse the WSJ of misquoting him but likened his view on notebooks to Mark Twain's after the legendary false obituary.
Microsoft managed to repeat its rare lead in console sales again in August as it outsold Nintendo's DS in the US, according to NPD data for the month. The slim Xbox and its new Arcade counterpart moved 356,700 systems last month where the DS fell well behind, at 342,700 systems. The gap was widened partly by Madden NFL 11, which sold over 920,000 copies just on the Xbox 360; the best-selling game for a Nintendo system, Super Mario Galaxy 2 on the Wii, only sold 124,600 copies.
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.
Microsoft achieved a symbolic victory today as NPD revealed that it had led overall console sales for the first time in the Xbox 360's history. The first full month of slim Xbox 360 availability in July saw the company move 443,500 systems. While near-flat versus a year ago, Nintendo DS sales dropped steeply enough, by 112,000 units, to give Microsoft the lead with 398,400 DS handhelds shipped.
Microsoft has sent out a warning that Windows XP will finally be dropped from netbooks as of October 22. The policy is a reminder of a move originally unveiled in April 2008 but will require that all Windows-based netbooks use Windows 7 from the fall onwards. Switching isn't expected to be a major issue as about 81 percent of netbooks were already using the much more modern OS by April, according to NPD data.
(Editorial) Recently, Apple quietly removed an application from its App Store called MyFrame, which allows users to view photos, manage their Twitter feeds, and control music over images a user chooses to display on their iPad. The application's owners e-mailed Steve Jobs asking why the application was removed. According to reports, Jobs said that his company is "not allowing apps that create their own desktops." He followed it up with a quick, "sorry."
(Editorial) A new NPD report was released this week, and to no one's surprise, Apple has increased its market share. According to the market-research firm, 28 percent of all music is being purchased on iTunes. Apple's store easily bested Amazon's MP3 marketplace, which accounted for 12 percent of all US music sales. Walmart also captured 12 percent of the market. Out of the entire digital-music market, NPD claims, Apple controls a whopping 70 percent.
iTunes now represents an even larger 28 percent of all US music, new NPD data showed today. It grew from 24 percent a year ago to an even larger percentage today and kept its spot as the single largest source of music in the country. Apple's share of digital music was flat, at 70 percent in early 2010, but meant more as customers increasingly moved to digital: downloads have jumped from 35 percent to 40 percent of all US sales.
Devices like the iPhone and iPod touch may have sparked a collapse in handheld game system sales in April, new NPD data found. The overall US console market's revenue dropped 27 percent last month, but the Nintendo DS and Sony PSP accounted for 61 percent of the overall drop even though they represented just a quarter of all revenue. Nintendo was especially hard-hit as DS sales were cut by more than half versus a year ago to just 440,800.
Apple today disputed an NPD study that had Android outselling iPhones in the US. Company spokeswoman Natalie Harrison claimed the response from 150,000 survey takers was a "very limited" sample and didn't reflect the actual influence of the iPhone OS worldwide. She unusually compared it against the 85 million iPhone and iPod touch units sold in total and pointed to the iPhone's improved third place in smartphone share as evidence of its actual standing.
Android phones may be outselling the iPhone in the US for the first time, according to new NPD data. In the first quarter of the year, Google-based phones like the Motorola Droid and HTC Droid Eris helped bump Android up to 28 percent of the market where Apple's phone mustered just 21 percent. RIM's BlackBerries were relatively safe but dropped to 36 percent, down 6 percent.
Just over half of younger, prospective iPad buyers would rather have a netbook or notebook than the Apple tablet, the NPD found in a new study. Among 18-to-34 year olds, 51 percent would prefer a conventional portable than the iPad. Owning an existing Apple device also wasn't enough to sway some users as 44 percent still would rather get a computer like the MacBook than the slate design.
The Xbox 360 claimed a rare absolute victory in sales last month, according to new NPD data. Microsoft pushed 422,000 Xbox 360s in February compared to a relatively mild 397,900 Nintendo Wiis over the same period. The reversal was rare but was helped by the launch of key games in or shortly before the period, including Bioshock 2 and Mass Effect 2.
Nearly all those who own e-book readers are content with what they own but often want more, the NPD Group discovered today in a new study. Roughly 93 percent of owners are either "very" or "somewhat" satisfied. However, less than half (46 percent) of those talked to in November are largely happy with the e-books they could get for their readers, and 39 percent couldn't find every book they wanted.
Macs now control almost all of the market for "premium" computers in US stores, new NPD stats show. In the fall, Macs represented 90 percent of all systems costing $1,000 or more. The figure is a sharp increase from 79 percent just a year earlier and comes despite the average Mac price budging relatively little, from $1,499 down to $1,361.
Apple virtually dominated US retail computer sales in October, the NPD Group said in a report issued Friday. The new iMac, particularly the 21.5-inch model, was the top-selling desktop for the month while the 13-inch MacBook Pro was the leader in notebooks for the same period. The Mac creator in each case had multiple entries in the top 10 of each category, with the 27-inch iMac in third place for desktops while other MacBook models were eighth, ninth and tenth in notebooks.
Mac desktops represented nearly half of all desktops sold at US retail shops in October, the NPD Group said in a new study. About 47.7 percent of desktop revenue was from iMacs, Mac minis or Mac Pros, an increase from 45 percent in April and a sharp surge from just 33 percent in October 2008. Mac notebooks also saw a sequential gain from 30 percent in April to 34 percent last month, though this was a drop from 38 percent a year earlier.
While Sony's PS3 has outsold Microsoft's Xbox 360 in October after the introduction of the lower-priced $300 slim PS3, Nintendo's Wii is back to the top of the sales charts, according to data collected by NPD. Still, the market is being saturated, as the Wii's sales in October of 2008 were nearly 300,000 units stronger. These numbers also came during an overall software sales slump, which fell 18 percent from the same period last year.
The NPD Group today revealed that initial Windows 7 sales were more than twice as strong as for Vista. Although declining to provide the number of copies estimated sold, the researchers note that boxed, retail unit sales of the new OS were 234 percent higher in the first few days than the 2007 release. The jump is credited to both to steep pre-order discounts, strong marketing and similar approaches that helped ship a large number of initial copies.
Back-to-school notebook sales were as strong as ever this year but skewed in favor of cheaper systems, the NPD Group said today in a new study. About $1.6 billion of the $7.6 billion spent between late July and mid-September went directly to notebooks, or about as much as was spent last year despite ongoing economic problems and rendering them "recession-proof." However, the revenue came at the expense of system prices: while more systems were sold, the average price of a school notebook fell from $804 last year to $624 this year.
Over 12 percent of all US homes have at least one Mac but aren't exclusive to the platform, the NPD Group found in its latest Household Penetration study. The number is a large jump from nine percent just last year, but about 85 percent of these also have at least one Windows PC as well. These homes are also more likely to have three or more computers, at 66 percent, versus just 29 percent for Windows-only homes.
Smartphones now represent more than a quarter of all cellphones sold in the US, the NPD Group has revealed in findings on Wednesday. Shipments of the devices jumped by almost half, or 47 percent, year over year in to where they represented 28 percent of all phones in the country this spring. The shift helped push the average price of a phone up $4 to $87.
Exactly one quarter of all music sold in the US now comes from iTunes, the NPD Group said today. Its portion of the market for the first half of 2009 is up from 21 percent in 2008 and represents 69 percent of the digital-only market. By comparison, Walmart now has just 14 percent of all music while Best Buy claims third place with an unspecified amount. In digital, Amazon MP3 is a distant second with just 8 percent of the market.
Netbooks are growing in popularity so quickly that they could represent a quarter of all portables sold this year, the NPD Group's DisplaySearch predicted today. Although netbook shipments should almost exactly double their 2008 levels to about 32.7 million in 2009, the researchers sees the total notebook market actually dropping by 100,000 systems to 129.5 million. The inertia would leave netbooks consuming 25.3 percent of the entire portable business this year.
