News tagged ‘Nielsen’
Digital Music Sales Fell 9%, Streaming Services Saw 54% Growth
While streaming music services are gaining popularity, digital music sales continue to fall. According to the latest statistics published by a research firm Nielsen SoundScan, streaming services, which offer music and music-related video content saw a 54% growth in 2014. As to the amount of digital albums sold through world’s largest online stores, it fell 9% last year.
Russian Government Asks Apple to Hand Over iOS and OS X Source Code
Russian government has recently asked Apple to give local intelligence agencies the source code of its iOS and Mac OS X. According to what the authorities say, such a step is required to make sure that the company software is not used for government surveillance. Russian Communications Minister Nikolai Nikiforov was the person who met with Peter Engrob Nielsen, Apple's general manager in Russia last week and asked about the handover of the source code.
What appeals to men and women in mobile phones?
A Nielsen survey reveal the most appreciated features of mobile phones for both men and women. The results show that they do not always coincide.
Globally, while more men gravitate toward tech-savvy mobile phone attributes like operating system (48% men vs. 41% women), battery life (48% vs. 44%), screen size (38% vs. 34%) and processor speed (41% vs. 31%) when shopping for a new device, more women are influenced by price (72% women vs. 67% men), service contract terms (27% vs. 25%) and camera capability (32% vs. 30%).
Digital Music Sales Decreased in 2013
For the first time since iTunes Store launch in 2003, digital music sales have decreased in 2013. Industry analysts say that the reason for such drop in sales is closely connected with streaming music services - Pandora, iTunes Radio and the others. People prefer listening to their favourite tracks and albums online rather than purchasing and downloading them to their devices.
iTunes Radio Is Coming Right on Time
We all know that Apple will introduce iTunes Radio this fall along with iOS 7. And it seems to be just the right time for such a release. And here’s why.
Adults and children prefer iPad to other devices
According to a research conducted by Nielsen in the United States, over the course of the next 6 months, consumers between the age of 6 to 12 years are interested in buying iOS products form Apple. New Nintendo Wii U took the second place on popularity, but rated behind the iPad. However, iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad Mini entered the top 5 most popular products for this age group.
Android and iOS represent over 90% of smartphone market in the U.S.
iPhone And Android Own Over 90% Of U.S. Smartphone Market
According to the
TV Industry Preparing for Voice Recognition Interfaces in 2012
Businessweek suggests that in the coming year TV industry will move towards voice-activated TV remotes, because of Apple's plans to enter the TV market in the near future. Many analysts believe that Apple’s TV will have Siri voice recognition system to simplify user interaction with the TV and provide users to control their TVs with voice.
Whether the rumors are true that Apple is planning to release a TV set by 2013, Siri-like voice recognition is headed for the living room. Microsoft (MSFT) is already there, via its Xbox 360 game console, and Comcast (CMCSA), Samsung Electronics (SHCAY), LG, and Sharp are working on voice-enabled features for TV sets, set-top boxes, and related products.
Businessweek believes that simple voice command as "Record the next episode of Modern Family" are much needed to improve user experience. Jakob Nielsen of Nielsen Norman Group goes on to say "Anything would be better than what we have now."
The remotes for such voice-controlled TV are said to look more like iPhones than traditional remotes, with possibly a single physical button to activate the microphone. Nuance suggests that 5% of TVs could be voice controlled by Christmas 2012.
Apple still No. 1 manufacturer in growing US smartphone market
According to findings released on Tuesday by Nielsen, Apple remained the largest smartphone manufacture in the Unites States in the third quarter. While smartphones sales continue to grow in the U.S., accounting for 56 percent of all cellphone sales in the prior quarter, Apple’s market share has reached 30%. Apple's third quarter performance was followed by HTC with a 20.3% share.
As for mobile platforms, Android and iOS dominate with a 71.1% share, holding 42.8% and 28.3% respectively. About a half of all mobile users in the United States owns a smartphone. During the prior quarter 56% of all handsets purchases were smartphones. The third place still belongs to RIM's BlackBerry platform with 17.8% that was followed by Microsoft's Windows Mobile platform, HP's Palm/webOS, Symbian and the fledgling Windows Phone.
App downloads in the third quarter saw that Google and Apple have the largest share. 83% of all downloads were made through Android and iOS devices. But Google has recently expressed dissatisfaction by the situation with app downloads, and hinted at upcoming changes that would bring its online store more in line with Apple's.
Typical iPad buyer is male, pet-owning video game player
Marketing firm BlueKai compiled the profile of the typical iPad buyer. So, a typical iPad owner is male, has pets and buys video games. Scientists or health care workers, international travelers, apartment dwellers and proponents of organic food are also among those people who are highly likely to purchase the iPad. The firm also found that vitamin takers, domestic business travelers, married couples and college graduates are typically owners of the iPad.
BlueKai created an infographic (below) to reflect its findings, including information received from other research firms. According to comScore, 45.9 percent of tablet owners belong to households earning $100,00 per year or more, while Nielsen has discovered that 70 percent of all iPad use occurs in front of a TV.
More than anything, kids want Apple's iPad, iPod touch & iPhone for Christmas
In October research company Nielsen conducted a new survey among 3,000 U.S. children at the age from 6 to 12 ahead of 2011 holiday season, and found out that the iPad is the most-wanted gift for kids, while the iPod touch ranks second and the iPhone comes in third. 44 percent of kids are interested in getting an iPad, 30 percent want an iPod touch, while 27 percent prefer to get an iPhone.
Apple's popularity among children is likely driven by gaming, as the most popular applications on iOS have consistently been games since the App Store first debuted. The iOS lineup beat out a number of popular gaming machines in the survey, including the Nintendo 3DS, Kinect for Xbox 360, and the Sony PlayStation 3.
The iPad dominates among teenagers: 24 percent of those polled said they are interested in buying an iPad in the next six months. Apple's iPhone is in the seventh place with 15 percent, while iPod touch is in twelfth with 8 percent.
Nielsen: Android And iOS Hold The Lead On The Smartphone Market
Today research company Nielsen
Google and Apple Will Compete For “Undecideds”
Google and Apple, two main parties on the smartphone market, are continuously fighting for consumers especially those who have not yet decided which OS they want to have in their next smartphone. According to
Digital Downloads Drive A Music Industry Recovery
According to Nielsen Soundscan report, US music sales have increased by 1.6% over the course of this year. The report gives the credit for the rise, unsurprisingly, to digital music sales, which in terms of albums was up 16.8% and in terms of individual tracks was up 9.6%. As for physical media, CDs were down by 8.8%, but Vinyl increased by 37%, although they only account for 1.2% of sales. Nielsen interestingly suggests the arrival of the Beatles on iTunes as a key reason, pointing to a dramatic increase starting from when it was released on iTunes. As for the most popular genre’s, Rock had the greatest market share in album sales whilst Pop was the most popular for digital tracks.