Six of Top Eight Music Players In Japan Are iPods
Six of Top Eight Music Players In Japan Are iPods
by , 7:00 AM EDT, August 19th, 2004
The AP is reporting that the iPod has become so popular in Japan, despite the introduction of the Sony Walkman NW-HD1, that six of the top 8 selling music players in the country are iPod models. The AP cites Gfk Japan, a market research company for its figures. This information comes to us in an article about how the iPod has taken on the same cultural icon status it has achieved in the US. From the AP:
When Sony Corp. President Kunitake Ando showed off the new Walkman meant to counter the assault by Apple's iPod portable music player, he held the prized gadget at the gala event upside down.
That may have been a bad omen.
The iPod is proving a colossal hit on the Japanese electronics and entertainment giant's own turf. The tiny white machine is catching on as a fashion statement and turning into a cultural icon in Japan, much the same way it won a fanatic following in the United States.
There is much more information about the iPod's success in Japan in the full article, which we recommend as a very interesting read.
The Mac Observer Spin:
Six of the top eight music players bearing the Apple logo is indeed an impressive performance for the company, and it can't be overstated how amazing it is for Apple to beat Sony in Japan. Sony has enormous power in the world of electronics in that country, but so far the company has missed the boat in the digital music player market.Observer Comments
Is this the data?
http://www.itmedia.co.jp/lifestyle/articles/0407/26/news017.html
The iPod is in 1st, 3rd, 4th, 6th place, with Sony in 2nd, and the iRiver in 5th.
Fri Aug 20, 2004 1:14 am Subject: An impression from Japan
I've heard that iPod competitors (probably Sony/iRiver) were complaining that they were "tricked" by Apple.
They had a pretty good idea that the iPod minis would be out of stock pretty fast, so they were trying to sell their alternatives to customers who couldn't find iPod minis. Unfortunately, the fourth generation iPods came out in a timely manner and squashed their plans.
There's been a lot of good news concerning Apple Japan and iPods in Japan lately. Some examples:
2nd Apple Store in Japan
http://www.apple.com/retail/jp/shinsaibashi/
Suntory iPod giveaway campaign (page in Japanese)
http://twdo.oolongcp.jp/oolong/pc/index.html
The Suntory iPod campaign is significant because:
1. Almost every grocery or convenience store in Japan carries Suntory's tea with iPod stickers plastered on them.
2. Suntory is airing TV commercials about the campaign on major Japanese Networks. I've never seen an Apple commercial on TV (excluding cable and other pay TV) - well at least in my city, which is a bit far from Tokyo.
The only thing missing is the iTunes Music Store. Cmon' Apple, we're waiting!
I live in Tokyo, and have seen those Apple iPod Commercials. They were aired on most TV networks (such as tv asahi and Nittele) There also was an AD Train with iPod Ads all over the Yamanote Line Trains.
I don't think iTMS in Japan is possible. As you might know, Copyright is extremely strict in Japan. Even free, over-the-air TVs have the "Copy-Once" technology to prevent dubbing. Even if the iTMS in Japan opens, it wouldn't allow you to listen on one Mac and one iPod, plus no CD burning....
Comments are currently closed. Please email the author instead.
Recent Headlines - Updated July 9th
- Thu, 4:29 PM
- News - SEC Investigating Jobs Health Disclosures
- 3:50 PM
- Ted Landau's User Friendly Blog - User Interface Blues
- 3:42 PM
- Reports - Chrome OS Complicates Apple & Google Boards of Directors
- 1:08 PM
- Deal Brothers - Life ‘09 Software Drops to $59.99 Delivered
- 11:06 AM
- News - TechRestore Posts Stop-motion iPhone 3GS Breakdown
- 10:17 AM
- Hot Forum Topic - Parallels versus Fusion: Reader Favorites
- 9:32 AM
- Product News - LaCie Unveils LaCinema Rugged HD Multimedia Hard Drive
- 8:54 AM
- Product News - CheckUp 2.5 Adds Snow Leopard, New Mac Support
- 8:37 AM
- News - Latest Microsoft Ad Hits at MacBook Price Again
- 8:06 AM
- TMO Appearances - TMO’s Jeff Gamet Dives into Social Media at CoMUG
- 7:30 AM
- The Back Page - Looking Ahead at the App Store’s Future
- Wed, 6:48 PM
- Games - Pipe Mania Puzzle Game Released for Mac, iPhone
The Mac Observer Reader Specials
- Download Typestyler, still the Ultimate Styling Tool for Internet, Print and Video Graphics. Works great in Classic with a Native OS X Version on the way. Free Tryout: www.typestyler.com
OWC: Big Drives, High Performance - Not High Prices! SATA 3.5" up to 1.5TB. Notebook up to 500GB. FW up to 6.0TB. 1.0TB Drive Models from as low as $97.99 www.MacSales.com
If you're using a Mac, then you've gotta check out Full Tilt Poker for Mac. This Full Tilt Poker bonus code does the unthinkable, it actually rewards!
RamJet Memory: MacBook and MacBook Pro 4GB kits for $57.99! Mac Pro 4GB Kits $99.99! iMac and Mac mini 4GB Kits for $57.99! 1TB SATA Hard Drives for $109.99! Click hereFor the latest Apple products use Ciao, a price comparison website, to find laptops like MacBook Air. Then find the best prices on MP3 players and use our comparison tool to evaluate mobile phones like the Apple iPhone.
Laptop Hardware Provided by TechRestore - Overnight Mac & iPod Repairs.
