Apple has just released their most recent set of earnings figures, detailing how the MP3 player, phone and computer manufacturer performed over the Christmas season. The answer? Strikingly well. In the middle of a global financial meltdown, Apple managed to turn in record breaking revenues ($10bn) and profits ($1.6bn).
Reevoo’s own figures back up Apple’s success story. Reevoo measured traffic to all Apple products across 61 British retailers’ websites, and saw Apple’s share of the market increase dramatically during the Christmas peak, from 1.3% in September to 3.0% in December.
This has everyone wondering whether Apple can continue to thrive selling high-end electronics while lesser manufacturers fight to survive in a race to the bottom of falling margins and lower sales. Of course, what’s driven Apple’s success over the past few years has been its continuing innovation - think of the iPhone, the iMac or the iPod Nano. So some pundits are asking whether this pace of innovation can continue or whether Apple will soon be running out of ideas.
A closer look at Reevoo’s numbers suggests that it might not be wise to bank on Apple performing as well in future. For one thing, the company’s market share has been pretty flat throughout the year, slipping back through the summer after popularity increased in the spring with the release of new iMac models.
This time around, it looks like Apple has gained most of its increase from the one area where it is truely king: MP3 players.
No-one needs to be told that by far the most popular range of MP3 players is Apple’s distinctive iPods, but amazingly Apple has managed to increase iPod popularity from 60% of MP3 players through the year to 80% during November and December, leaving all other manufacturers to share just 20% of the market over the Christmas peak. Apple released a highly-praised refresh of its bestselling Nano during September and a smaller update of the iPod Touch. Shoppers responded with a thumbs up, giving the new Nano a rating of 9.1 out of 10. But popularity only really rocketed in November, perhaps highlighting their appeal as Christmas gifts.
In addition to their overwhelming popularity, Apple also manage to sell iPods at a premium - only Portable Media Player specialist Archos has a higher average cost per MP3 player sold.
Putting this together suggests that Apple has benefited from a strong run on its impressive MP3 players this Christmas, putting it in position to report those eye-popping revenue revenue figures.
So why the caution? There are two worries about iPods for 2009.
The first is that other manufacturers are improving their products. Samsung and Creative, in particular, saw much-increased ratings from shoppers over Christmas. So if you’re looking for a new MP3 player, it would be a good idea to keep your eye on what these two brands have to offer.
The second worry is that the number of people looking for a new MP3 player seems certain to decrease as smartphones improve and start to reproduce more and more features of MP3 players. With only 4.4m iPhones sold in the last quarter compared to 23m iPods, Apple will have to do a lot of work to make sure iPod fans stick with the brand.
Hope you all had a fantastic Christmas and New Year.
Let’s kick off 2009 with a time and space saving gadget. There have been lots of rumours about the Powermat but at this year’s CES (Consumer Electronics Association), we’ve finally heard that they will be in stores this year.
What are they? They’re mats that can be plugged in and will simultaneously charge a whole heap of gadgets, all at the same time, wirelessly.
That’s no more chargers cluttering up your house, no more tangled wires and no need to use multiple plugs when you need to charge up more than one thing at the same time.
The Powermat uses magnetic induction and, according to the website, “When a Powermat-enabled device is placed on the mat, a “handshake” process synchronizes the mat with the receiver and electric power is generated to meet the specific energy needs of the device.”They’ll then monitor the power in the device and disconnect power to each device once they’ve finished charging.
Powermats will also be able to be used in cars with their universal, window mount car charger for hand-held devices.
Pretty exciting stuff but we still have no word on prices. So we’ll wait and see about the price tags on these things before we go ahead and liberate our chargers.
Last week we looked at the top digital cameras of 2008 and this week we bring you MP3 players. There are plenty of them around but which ones are any good?
We’ve looked at the most popular ones - the ones that get the most attention on the web and the highest rated to see how they fare when people get them home.
At the moment, everyone’s after the New 16 GB Apple iPod Nano. It gets great reviews for its design and size but, as with most Apple products, consumers would like more battery life.
Here are the MP3 players getting the most attention at the moment:
The Creative Zen 8GB MP3 Player gets great reviews. Consumers hardly have a bad word to say about it and praise its design, battery life and sound quality.
Here are some of the things reviewers had to say:
“excellent all rounder sound, vision, size and value for money” Debs, Co. Durham
“i absolutely love it, the sound and vision quality is exceptional” Nicola, Whitley Bay
If you’re strapped for cash but want to invest in something decent, the Samsung YP-T10J is an absolute bargain at £30. It’s rated 9/10 and seriously impresses reviewers:
“this MP3 player has just about everything you could possibly want and very user friendly. The sound is clear and crisp and the photo/video mode is excellent.” Denise, Norwich
“its awesome, looks good, good sound and battery life, cute, not too common like an ipod” Anonymous
“This MP3 player is capable of superb sound reproduction (though not perhaps with the supplied headphones). It’s easy to find your way around the menu and I think it must be one of the slimest MP3 players around.” Eric, Perthshire
If you’re not impressed with any of these, there are loads of other MP3 players to choose from.
This week’s Gadget Watch is all about trees. Metal trees, that is. This fab looking sculpture will not only be an interesting addition to any room but it will also be your one stop shop (or tree), for charging MP3s, mobile phones, cameras and other small, battery operated devices.
How? Well, each of the leaves is actually a solar panel. These 54 solar panels or photovoltaic panels, to be exact, will store energy that can then be used to charge you favourite gadgets.
Pretty different, hey? Each piece is also movable so you can make it even more original by creating your own shapes.
A fun and great looking product that will save you money and give you that nice warm feeling to know that you’re helping to save the planet too.
It was designed by French genius, Vivien Muller and is not yet on the market but we’ll keep you posted.
If you’re mad about music and own a load of old-school LPs, you might like this week’s Gadget Watch. You can now easily convert your old vinyls into super new MP3s and take them everywhere with you on your iPod.
The LP Dock will let you transfer songs either through your PC via the USB cable or direct to your iPod. If you go through your PC, the Gracenote MusicID techonology that comes with this genius device will automatically retrieve all of the artist, album and song info for you. And no worries if your vinyls are a little scratched, this software will sort all that out for you too!
You can also use the LP Dock to play your LPs through your HiFi system. Pretty cool, hey?! You can pick one up for £129 or $259.95.
It seems us Brits are baffled by modern technology that was sent to help us. According to a poll of 2000 people (by the folks over at Reevoo), mobile phones, SatNavs and even TV remotes send us into panic and rage when we can’t figure out how to use them. In fact, a whopping 32% of people admitted to throwing a complicated gadget across the room when they couldn’t work out what to do with it.
Digital cameras were voted the most complicated with SatNavs and mobile phones close behind. Interestingly though, people are obviously happy to live in confusion with their SatNavs, as only 6% actually read the manuals!
More alarming is that the same numbers of us are as baffled by our laptops as our ovens (the nation’s health crisis suddenly makes sense now…). And people are more inclined to read their TV manual over their oven’s. Hmmmm.
And even when a device goes wrong, more than a quarter will try to fix it themselves, or even buy a new one, instead of turning to the instructions.
Here’s the full list of things we find complicated:
1. Digital Camera - 26% 2. GPS navigation - 21% 3. Mobile phone - 19% 4. Washing machine - 18% 5. Camcorder - 17% 6. DVD player - 15% 7. Games console - 13% 8. TV remote control - 13% 9. MP3 player - 13% 10. Microwave - 12% 11. Computer - 12% 12. Digital photo frame - 12% 13. Scanner - 11% 14. Laptop - 10% 15. Television - 10% 16. Modem - 10% 17. Oven - 9% 18. Printer - 9% 19. Answer machine - 9% 20. Freeview box - 8% 21. Broadband - 8% 22. Sky - 8% 23. Dishwasher - 7% 24. Digital TV - 7% 25. Hi Fi system - 7% 26. Tumble dryer - 6% 27. Iron - 6% 28. Telephone - 6% 29. Clock Radio - 5% 30. Smoke alarm - 5% 31. Electric timer - 5% 32. Smoothie maker - 5% 33. Alarm clock - 4% 34. Blender - 4%
…and how many people bother to read the manuals for these items:
1. I don’t read manuals - 46% 2. Mobile phone - 19% 3. Washing machine - 17% 4. Television - 16% 5. Digital Camera - 14% 6. Microwave - 11% 7. Oven - 10% 8. DVD player - 10% 9. MP3 player - 9% 10. Laptop - 9% 11. Computer - 8% 12. Printer - 8% 13. TV remote control - 8% 14. Broadband - 8% 15. Telephone - 7% 16. Tumble dryer - 6% 17. Iron - 6% 18. GPS navigation - 6% 19. Camcorder - 6% 20. Dishwasher - 6% 21. Hi Fi system - 6% 22. Scanner - 5% 23. Freeview box - 5% 24. Answer machine - 5% 25. Alarm clock - 5% 26. Modem - 5% 27. Smoke alarm - 5% 28. Clock Radio - 5% 29. Games console - 5% 30. Sky - 4% 31. Digital TV - 4% 32. Digital photo frame - 3% 33. Electric timer - 2%
Possibly the strangest gadget ever. It’s got a rating of 9.1/10 on Reevoo from a whopping 67 reviews and everyone raves about it. But what is it??
It’s a Zoundz. An “Interactive Fusion Of Light And Sound”. Well there you go then.
For those of you who are still none the wiser, it’s a base unit that comes with a variety of figures. Each figure, when placed on the unit in different positions, plays a different beat or riff – so you can create your own classic tunes.
You can then use your tunes to wake you up by using its alarm function or you can play your iPod through its built-in speakers. It’ll even give you a nice light show at the same time.
People really are quite literally raving about this thing. Here are some of the reviews:
“Quite simply the best present I have ever purchased for anyone ever!” “it is simp[ly], the best fun you can have with your clothes on” “Very cool addictive gadget - a must have” “A very silly way for even the most ham-fisted numpty to make music”
There are more Zoundz reviews here, if you want to get caught up in the madness. You can pick one up for around £15 but funnily enough, they’re out of stock in both the Gadgetshop and Firebox and Amazon!
Following on from our fun iPod docks post, we’ve got a cracking set of iPod skins and cases for you today.
I had to start with the iFrogz Tadpole iPod Case, which is meant to be for children but I was semi-tempted. It’s bright and extra shock absorbent so that you don’t have to worry about little ones (or slightly larger ones), dropping them. It also means that you’ll never lose it in your handbag…It’s 100% coated silicon so that it repels dust and lint. This is compatible with 30, 60 or 80GB iPod Classics and will set you back £24.99.
If you’re a more stylish individual, may I suggest this leather case for your Classic? Toro’s Treo leather case has a clear plastic screen protector so that you never lose sight of your music and a rotating belt clip that (I didn’t write this bit) “lets you experiment the best fit to look as snazzy as possible”. They’re £12.99 and come in pink and brown leather.
If you like a patterned case, there’s bunch of cool cases called Gelaskins. They come in different sizes for different types of iPod. This one is the Red Robot design but you can be as bold or as understated as you like because there are loads of different designs. This 2nd Generation Nano case is £9.99 and available over at iPod World.
For flashy types, the Griffin Technology disko is the case for you. As well as the protective, tough polycarbonate shell, the LEDs flash and swirl away in motion-activated light sequences. Forget disco balls, this can control a party all on its own. They’re £16.95 from MacHeaven.
For the cautious amongst you, why not keep your iPod from thieves by disguising it as a…hymn book? The case is designed for 30, 60 and 80GB Classics but if you have any other make that’s about the same size, it should work for them too. For £15,’cherishing’ your music has never been so easy. (sorry).
If you’re debating over whether or not to get an iPod or another brand of player, you can read the MP3 player reviews to help you decide. If you’re set on getting an iPod, check out all of the iPod reviews so that you can find the best one for you.
I think we can now officially say it’s summer, so to celebrate, I’ve picked out a few summer essentials to help you make the most of the weather before it’s too late.
You can’t enjoy summer without a lovely fruit juice at your side so I’ve checked out which juicer shoppers consider the best. At the moment, the Philips HR1861 is top with 8.6/10. It’s a 2 litre stainless steel super machine that pulverises whole fruit into juice in seconds. Shoppers hardly have a bad word to say about it. Check out the juicer reviews to see for yourselves.
As gadgets are always on my mind, I feel the need to insert a gadget I saw the other week that would be a perfect accompaniment to this juicer. Unfortunately, I can’t find the exact equivalent in the UK but for all of our US readers, you shouldn’t have a problem finding one. It’s a radio controlled drinks and snack holder for the pool. Summer can be a hot and sweaty business so don’t exert yourself, deliver snacks to friends in the pool without even having to move from your chair, or get snacks delivered to you on your lilo without having to get wet. For those of us in the UK, here’s an equivalent snack and drinks float that’s unfortunately not radio-controlled but it’s still pretty cool. All for £19.95.
If you don’t have a pool, how about one of these. It’s a 15 foot pool that can be put anywhere and it comes complete with a cover, ladder, pump and ground cloth. It’s £170 but surely it’s worth it for 3 days of sunshine a year?
And you’re going to need something to chill those drinks in. One of the best rated mini fridges is the Woolworths Micro Chiller. It’s a bargain at £14.
You’ll also be needing somewhere to sit, so how about this eight piece garden furniture set? It’s £199.99 and at the moment, it comes with a free sun lounger, worth £29.99.
And finally, no self-respecting sun worshipper can do so without some tunes. We featured the wireless outdoor iPod speaker a few weeks ago and I think it would be the perfect addition here. The speaker comes with a small transmitter that you plug your iPod
into. You can then apparently wander up to 240 feet away from the
speaker and still enjoy your favourite tunes. Perfect for the garden and wire free.
Some summer selections there. Here’s hoping we get some summer to enjoy them…
If you’ve succumbed to the iPod craze you’re either blissfully happy living in the land of the follower or you’re trying desperately to make it that little bit different to so that you can feel better about copying millions of other like-minded shoppers. There are plenty of things you can do to set you and your iPod apart from the crowd. We’re going to start off looking at iPod docks (but for those of you that don’t have an iPod, most of these will still work wonders on the other MP3 players out there too).
iPod docks are a necessity in any self-respecting trendsetter’s pad but how can you make yours unique? Well the guys over at the Japan Trend Shop have one idea (see above). The Zumreed Drop Speaker looks different and can be transported anywhere, including the bathroom as your iPod is tucked up nice and safe in the acrylic container. These come from overseas and are priced at $79 but they deliver to the UK. There’s a pretty good exchange rate at the moment so you could pick yourself up a bargain.
You may think I’ve gone slightly crazy with this next dock but I’m not the only one. They’re continually sold out so you have to get in there quick (may be something to do with the fact that they’re only £12.99 and they have some pretty good reviews). They’re called iPals and they’re an interesting way to house your iPod or any other MP3 player. They’ve got two speakers in their ‘ears’ which can be bent and rotated for maximum listening pleasure and they come in different colours and patterns.
If those two are a little too ‘out there’ for you, how about the stylish JBL Radial dock? It’s sleek and classy and has a stereo mini jack connection so that you can listen to most other MP3 players too. It’s £169.99 at the moment.
If retro’s your thing, maybe this iPod alarm clock that plays your favourite tunes to get you out of bed will interest you? It charges your iPod while you’re asleep and saves you from unwanted morning crooners. At £39.99, I think that’s a bargain.
At the opposite end of the scale, this next dock comes in at $1299.99! But it is a dock with a difference. The Miuro Robot can either hold your iPod inside it or just transfer everything from iTunes. It’s remote-controlled so you can press a button on the remote and your Miuro Robot will find you and bring all of your music with it . You can also control it with a joystick – much more fun. You may have already heard of it but if not, here’s a video so that you can see it in action. These guys also ship worldwide, should you be interested…
perfect accompaniment to this juicer. Unfortunately, I can’t find the exact equivalent in the UK but for all of our US readers, you shouldn’t have a problem finding one. It’s a 
If you don’t have a pool, how about one of these. It’s a 
You’ll also be needing somewhere to sit, so how about this 
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