Sony walkman outsells Apple's iPod

[MacBytes]

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Category: Apple Hardware
Link: Sony walkman outsells Apple's iPod (http://www.macbytes.com/link.php?sid=20090905110116)
Description:: Sony's Walkman digital music player outsold the Apple iPod in Japan last week - the first that has happened in more than four years, according to Bloomberg, citing data from Tokyo-based research firm BCN.

Sony's share of the portable music player market for the week ended August 30 was 43%,exceeding Apple's 42.1%, ending the lead that the iPod maker had kept since January 2005, the electronics researcher BCN said in a statement on Wednesday.

It was the first week Apple gave up the lead spot on the list since January 2005 in Japan.

However, the BCN data didn't count the iPhone in the survey, and to some extent the results reflect some users buying iPhones instead of iPods.

http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20090903/sony-walkman-outsells-apples-ipod.htm

Posted on MacBytes.com (http://www.macbytes.com)
Approved by Mudbug

[sushi]

Interesting. But not sure how significant this is.

Considering that sales of portable music players in Japan fell by 13.5%, iPhone sales were not included, and new iPods are expected to be introduced next week, not sure how meaningful this data really is.

However, I am glad to see Sony innovating and providing competition to keep Apple on their toes. :)

[SPUY767]

Interesting. But not sure how significant this is.

Considering that sales of portable music players in Japan fell by 13.5%, iPhone sales were not included, and new iPods are expected to be introduced next week, not sure how meaningful this data really is.

However, I am glad to see Sony innovating and providing competition to keep Apple on their toes. :)

Not really at all. It is almost considered a sin for a Japanese consumer to buy a non-Japanese product. Look at PS3 vs XBox360 sales figures in Japan. It's a freaking miracle that the iPod ever outsold the Walkman.

[mkrishnan]

Not really at all. It is almost considered a sin for a Japanese consumer to buy a non-Japanese product. Look at PS3 vs XBox360 sales figures in Japan. It's a freaking miracle that the iPod ever outsold the Walkman.

But it's not like the iPod briefly eclipsed the Walkman... it held the title for four years straight, according to the article.

But I'm confused ... the Sony NWZ-A810 pictured and discussed in the article is a 2007 model, isn't it? Not a new product. What's their new product? Is it the NWZ-A202 (http://www.etechreviews.net/review-of-sony-nwz-w202-w-series-walkman-2gb-black/)?

[MacMonster1985]

It is almost considered a sin for a Japanese consumer to buy a non-Japanese product. Look at PS3 vs XBox360 sales figures in Japan.

Maybe they just didn't want to buy a shoddy product with 50% failure rate when the PS3 has far superior and reliable hardware?

[Scepticalscribe]

Interesting article, and food for thought. Given what didn't happen at the "September Event" and what was not unveiled there, perhaps this trend will continue for a while.

Cheers