TMO Reports - 11% of U.S. Owns an iPod or MP3 Player, New Study Finds || The Mac Observer

You're viewing an article in TMO's historic archive vault. Here, we've preserved the comments and how the site looked along with the article. Use this link to view the article on our current site:
11% of U.S. Owns an iPod or MP3 Player, New Study Finds

TMO Reports - 11% of U.S. Owns an iPod or MP3 Player, New Study Finds

by , 3:10 PM EST, February 15th, 2005

WASHINGTON -- 11% of Americans over 18 own an Apple iPod or similar MP3 player and almost one in five of those under the age of 30 have bought a digital music device, a new study has found.

The study, carried out by the Washington-based nonprofit Pew Internet & American Life Project, showed 22 million adults in the U.S. own a MP3 player. While younger people had a better chance of owning an iPod or MP3 device, the number dropped to one in seven in the 30-to-39 and 40-to-48 age groups.

"iPods and MP3 players are heading into the mainstream," Lee Rainie, project director at the Pew Internet & American Life Project, told The Mac Observer. "It's certainly an ever-growing part of the fabric of young Americans. It isn't yet the norm with the older generation."

The higher the income bracket, the more people own an iPod or MP3 player, the survey showed. 24% of those who live in households earning more than US$75,000 have a digital music device. 10% of those living in households earning $30,000 to $75,000 have them and 6% of those living in households earning less than $30,000 have them as well.

Other details of the survey included:

Men are more likely to have iPods/MP3 players than women. Some 14% of men have the players, compared to 9% of women.

Fully 14% of those ages 30-39 have an MP3 player and 14% of younger baby boomers, ages 40-48, have them.

16% of parents living with children under 18 years old have iPods/MP3 players, compared to 9% of those who don’t have children living at home.

Those who use the Internet are four times as likely as non-internet users to have iPods/MP3 players, "probably because its easier and faster to download music online," Mr. Rainie said. Fully 15% of internet users have iPods/MP3 players, compared to 4% of non-Internet users.

The more advanced the Internet user, the more likely it is that he or she has an iPod/MP3 player. Those with six years or more of Web experience are twice as likely to have them as those who are relative new to the Internet.

Broadband access is strongly associated with ownership of iPods/MP3 players. Some 23% of those with broadband at home have iPods/MP3 players, compared to 9% who have dialup connections. Those who have broadband access at home and at work are the most likely of all to have iPods/MP3 players. Almost a third, 31%, of those with broadband access have iPods/MP3 players.

Mr. Rainie said history shows once a product family catches on -- like cellular telephones, televisions and compact disc players -- growth takes off and grows into the high double digits.

"Once technology reaches 10% or 11% penetration it moves to a different realm," Mr. Rainie commented. "It wouldn't surprise me at all if now that we've hit that magic 10% 'tipping point' we see market penetration actually accelerate for a while."

In terms of similar trends in electronics, Mr. Rainie said iPods and MP3 players are following the historic track of DVD, compact disc players and digital cameras "MP3 players are breaking out fairly quickly," he said. "Much quicker than bigger inventions such as the telephone, televisions or radio. It took a much longer time for any of those to impact 10% of the U.S. population compared to iPods or MP3 players."

The nationwide phone survey was conducted between January 13 and February 9 and involved 2,201 people. The margin of error was plus or minus 2%. Mr. Rainie told TMO the survey did not ask those using MP3 players what brand they owned.

Observer Comments

Show: Subjects Only | Full Comments

Close Name:Guest
Tue Feb 15, 2005 5:12 pm Subject: Editing

Maybe "214%" should be "21.4%?"
Just a thought.

Reply | Quote

Close Name:jimothy Posts: 612 Joined: 04 Jun 2004
Tue Feb 15, 2005 5:31 pm Subject: Eleven down...

89 to go!

Reply | Quote

View Name:RealityCheck - Troll Posts: 392 Joined: 06 May 2004
Tue Feb 15, 2005 5:36 pm Subject: iPod Fad Headed Towards Collapse

Close Name:AyaSofya Posts: 137 Joined: 11 May 2004
Tue Feb 15, 2005 5:41 pm Subject: Death knell

Hey Brian, do you want to start up an iPod death knell?

Quote
RealityCheck wrote:
This rapid growth in music players confirms the music player fad. What percent of the population ever wants a personal portable music player with earbuds? For nerdy unsociable geeks they're great, but for the rest of us who prefer to interact with people, there's no demand. After the poor geeks who can only afford the iPod shuffle scoop up the supply by summer, this fad will die faster than disco music. I can see Apple stores stocked to the ceiling with unsalable iPods by this fall.

Reply | Quote

Close Name:Guest
Tue Feb 15, 2005 5:50 pm Subject: RealityCheck makes a prediction!

>For nerdy unsociable geeks they're great, but for the rest of us who prefer to interact with people, there's no demand.

Really? I get the impression you are always sitting in front of your computer waiting for the latest news about Apple

>After the poor geeks who can only afford the iPod shuffle scoop up the supply by summer, this fad will die faster than disco music. I can see Apple stores stocked to the ceiling with unsalable iPods by this fall.

I'm sure TMO readers will be happy to mark this spot and see what happens. If you win, you should be able to get a good deal on an iPod at the Apple store nearest you!

Reply | Quote

Close Name:Guest
Tue Feb 15, 2005 5:56 pm Subject: More spew from the usual place...

RC said, "This rapid growth in music players confirms the music player fad. What percent of the population ever wants a personal portable music player with earbuds?"

I say, "RC's verbal diarrhea confirms that he's a flame-baiting little twit."

Ummm...I don't know. I suppose you've never owned a Sony Walkman? Remember those? Oh yeah...they've only been a staple in Sony's product lineup for the last 20 years. Some fad. They've been around longer than CD's...ya know, that other fad. Oh and that Intenet thing will never last either.

Reply | Quote

Close Name:kenaustus Posts: 602 Joined: 27 Jun 2003
Tue Feb 15, 2005 6:00 pm Subject: Lots of people RC

Remember the Walkman that sold around 360 million? The Walkman had earplugs - remember?

As an old retailer I would LOVE to have iPods stocked to the ceiling going into the Christmas season. I'd have a large ad in the paper on Thanksgiving and add extra staff. Just shows that you know less about retailing than you do about Macs, iPods or Apple in general.

By the way, if the iPod is such a short term fad why are competitors busting their @ss to try to catch up?

Reply | Quote

Close Name:Guest
Tue Feb 15, 2005 6:13 pm Subject: Comedy Gold!

Quote
RealityCheck wrote:
This rapid growth in music players confirms the music player fad.

Um, no. That's called gaining market share.

Quote
RealityCheck wrote:
What percent of the population ever wants a personal portable music player with earbuds.

It would seem the answer is 11%. Did you read the article?

Quote
RealityCheck wrote:
For nerdy unsociable geeks they're great, but for the rest of us who prefer to interact with people, there's no demand.

This has to be the funniest part of RC's post. Although it seems you are implying that you aren't one of these "unsociable geeks," it seems that you continually monitor TMO so you can be the first to post troll bait. And if you're such a sociable type, why continue to hide behind a pseudonym?

Reply | Quote

Close Name:tuscmat Posts: 35 Joined: 06 May 2004
Tue Feb 15, 2005 6:25 pm Subject: What can you expect?

RC still believes that talking movies are just a fad too. Oh well, what can you expect from a narrow minded myopic little ass?

Reply | Quote

Close Name:Patricio Posts: 14 Joined: 24 Jun 2001
Tue Feb 15, 2005 7:13 pm Subject: Study also finds a new word

Market penetration "excellerate"? Could I have a definition please?

Reply | Quote

Close Name:Thumper Posts: 2 Joined: 27 Oct 2004
Tue Feb 15, 2005 7:28 pm Subject: New word

translation: could mean faster, deeper market penetration

or in English "accelerate"

Hmmmm ... or maybe refers to some analysis of market penetration done using a certain spreadsheet program.

Reply | Quote

Close Name:Nookster Posts: 111 Joined: 27 Oct 2004
Tue Feb 15, 2005 8:10 pm Subject: Oh come on peeps...

Rapid Growth = bad. Earbuds = bad. Can't sell 'pods by Autumn. That nerds comment.

Implicit. Humorous. Intent.

OK...OK. It's fair to say that there are plenty of genuine Trolls out there, who's post's can contain the elements of comments like these, and earnestly mean every word of it. Hence a reasonable excuse for missing the ironic intent. But never so many doozies all together.

Reply | Quote

Close Name:Tiger Posts: 1018 Joined: 17 Jun 2003
Tue Feb 15, 2005 8:41 pm Subject: well, I want one...

And it seems I'm getting one. My girlfriend ordered one for me for Valentines Day. A shuffle. I gave her the 20g for Christmas (she's in grad school so $ is an issue). And I'm overwhelmed with the Shuffle. So cool.

And obviously, it's not hurting Apple to have their stock more than double the price of Dell's and almost as high as IBMs.

RC=rectal cranial inversion.

Reply | Quote

Close Name:Guest
Tue Feb 15, 2005 10:43 pm Subject:

the only people microsoft folk interact with are from their tech staff

Reply | Quote

Close Name:Guest
Wed Feb 16, 2005 7:01 am Subject: iPod Will Die Before the Battery Does

The iPod is too noisy. The clunky sounds of the hard drive means it's time to move all your music back to your computer.

Reply | Quote

Close Name:Guest
Wed Feb 16, 2005 11:27 am Subject: 'Die faster than Disco Music'

Interestingly enough, there was a disco song on the radio this morning. So I guess it isn't dead.

PS: For those who don't remember the radio, it was the music fad before the walkman, which was the music fad before the iPod.
PPS: Nobody has ever made money on music fads. All music-fad related companies are out of business now, so Apple surely will be soon. Where *is* Sony these days?
PPPS: Sarcasm. I know some people around here have trouble with that.

Reply | Quote

Close Name:Guest
Wed Mar 29, 2006 10:56 am Subject: MP3 players are great.

iPods or mp3 players in general are great. Especially when connected to home hifi systems, or in the car. MP3 players have obsoleted my CD, LP, tape collection. I should sell them at a garage sale.

As for headphone listening, some people prefer the socializing aspect and leave the headphones at home.

Reply | Quote

Close Name:Guest
Fri Aug 25, 2006 4:08 pm Subject: brutal blowjob

brutal blowjob
<a href="http://brutalblowjob.fh.pl">http://brutalblowjob.fh.pl</a>
http://brutalblowjob.fh.pl
[url="http://brutalblowjob.fh.pl"]brutal blowjob[/url]
http://brutalblowjob.fh.pl

<a href="http://big-tits.xa.pl">http://big-tits.xa.pl</a>
http://big-tits.xa.pl
[url="http://big-tits.xa.pl"]big tits[/url]
http://big-tits.xa.pl

Reply | Quote

Close Name:Guest
Fri Aug 25, 2006 4:42 pm Subject: brutal blowjob

Reply | Quote

Comment on this Article

Guest Posts Visible. Hide Them.
Back to top Page 1 of 1

You cannot edit your comments. You cannot delete your comments.

Comments are currently closed. Please email the author instead.

Recent Headlines - Updated May 17th

Thu, 10:41 AM: News - China Mobile: We’re Working on Getting the iPhone
10:07 AM: Hot Forum Topic - Reader Discussion: Deciphering iPhone Update Rumors
9:16 AM: News - Time Warner, Viacom Settle iPad Streaming Dispute
8:30 AM: News - Apple Wins Control of iPhone5.com Domain
Wed, 10:50 PM: News - Apple Claims 7.9% of Mobile Phone Market in Q1
9:37 PM: News - Verizon Eliminating Unlimited Data for Users with 4G LTE
6:16 PM: News - IHS Calls Apple’s iPad 2012 Tablet Domination ‘No Contest’
4:40 PM: Product News - Apple Patches 17 Security Issues in QuickTime 7.7.2 for Windows
2:30 PM: Analysis - Rumor Roundup: Apple’s New Products
2:22 PM: Video Review - Spyder PowerShadow i4 Battery Case for iPhone 4/4S
1:29 PM: Deal Brothers - Mac Pro 2.8GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon: $2119
11:14 AM: News - Apple Asks Court to Drop Siri Lawsuits

The Mac Observer Reader Specials

Macsales.com SuperSpeed SSDs from $58. Transform your Mac with an SSD Solution of up to 960GB! You won't believe it's the same machine! Once you experience an OWC SSD, no going back! - Macsales.com
Mac RAM Upgrades: MacBook Pro 16GB kits $475, 8GB Kits for $119.99! iMac 16GB RAM Kits (4x 4GB) for $229.99! Mac Pro Memory 32GB Kit for $399.99, 64GB Kit for $889.99! Mac Hard Drives 2TB Seagate SATA II for $249.99! Click Here!
If you're using a Mac, then you've gotta check out PokerOnAMac.com. Online casinos and poker rooms are literally giving away cash and the casino sites at Poker on a Mac do the unthinkable, they actually reward! Join today, the download is free!
Looking to find online casinos for mac? We can help you find the best real money casino sites where you can play your favorite casino games including blackjack and slots.