Apple iPod grabs 82% US retail market share

The Apple iPod player has conquered the US digital music market in August adding 18 percent to its share of the market bringing it to a whopping 82 per cent. The results were released by research firm NPD, in August 2003 Apple had 64 per cent of the market where as in August 2002 it had a 33 per cent share of digital music player market.

The Apple iPod has becoming more and more important to apple as the iPod and other music products from apple now represent 16 per cent of apples 2.01 Billion US Dollars Q3 2004 revenue results.  This figure is almost certain to be higher for Q4 2004 results, the iPod now accounts for 249m US dollars out the 322m US dollars of music related revenue from Apple.

Apple has sold well over 3.72 million iPods with a market watcher predicting that this could increase to well over 5 million iPods by the end of the end of 2004. To meet this target Apple will have to ship 1.28 million iPods during Q4 of 2004 and 640,000 in Q1 2005 and each quarter to meet this target.

A US research firm also reckons that some 10.4 million hard disk based digital music players will ship in 2004, up 2.1 million from last year.  Apple will account for at least 3.1 million of these; giving it a 28% hold of the world's hard drive based music player market. Flash based players will shift 7.6 million units this year bringing the total digital music player market to around 18 million units, this figure will reach 52.7 million units by 2007.  Apple will soon be joining the flash based MP3 market to try and compete with cheaper flash based mp3 players.

Apple's iPod took 82 per cent of the US retail digital music player market in August, adding 18 percentage points to its share during the preceding 12 months alone. So says US research firm NPD. August 2004's figure compares with a 64 per cent market share for August 2003 and a 33 per cent share in August 2002, figures cited in a Bloomberg story anticipating Apple's Q4 results, due this week. iPod and Apple's other music products accounted for 16 per cent of Apple's 2.01bn Q3 2004 revenue, a figure that may well rise during Q4, not least thanks to an entire month's lost iMac sales. The iPod itself accounted for 249m of that 322m music-related revenue contribution. Up to the end of Q3, Apple has sold 3.72m iPods. Earlier this year, UK-based market watcher Informa Media predicted Apple will have shipped 5m iPods by the end of 2004. It needs to ship 1.28m units during Q4 FY2004 and Q1 FY2005 - 640,000 in each quarter - to meet that target. US research company In-Stat/MDR reckons some 10.4m hard drive-based music players will ship in calendar 2004, up from 2.1m last year. Apple is likely to account for at least 3m of those, based on Informa's forecast and existing Apple's sales, giving it at least 28 per cent of the world HDD player market. In-Stat/MDR reckons a further 7.6m Flash-based music players will ship this year, for a total volume of 18m digital music players. That figure will grow to 52.4m by 2007, the company forecasts.Apple was recently claimed to be preparing a Flash-based iPod to tackle that sector of the digital player market.

Taken from The Register. Apple is going to be very successful in its Q4 results if the sales of the iPod are anything to go by.  Only problem with apple is their proprietary battery that costs loads to replace.

Source: The Register