Have you heard of Sony’s latest creation, the Walkman Phone? If not, you’re not alone. According to a recently released study on digital music devices by TechnoMetrica Market Intelligence, more than 140 million adult Americans have not heard of it.
“Sony still hasn’t gotten the word out about its Walkman Phone,” says Constantine Kambanis, an analyst at TechnoMetrica in the press release. He points out that “140 million people amounts to just under two and a half times the population of Great Britain. That’s a lot of people.”
However, while consumer awareness levels are important, acceptance levels may be much more so. According to Kambanis “our findings suggest that the Walkman Phone is poorly positioned for a head-to-head match up against Apple’s iPod or Dell’s Digital Jukebox.”
MacDailyNews Take: LOL, that dude said “Dell Digital Jukebox!” All three Dell DJ owners must not have heard of the Walkman Phone.
Kambanis continues in the press release, “While the generic concept generally does well among consumers and those who crave convenience, it has a weak showing among the consumer groups that propelled Apple’s iPod to superstardom.”
Just who are those key consumer groups? According to the report, young people, those with a college education as well as those with relatively high household incomes.
“Without the support of these key consumer groups, Sony’s Walkman Phone may be in trouble.”
In fact, TechnoMetrica reports that it found surprising divergence in consumer preferences when it comes to the Walkman Phone and the iPod. According to Kambanis, “at this stage in the game, the iPod generation — and that term encompasses more than age — appears to be shunning the Walkman Phone, even at the conceptual stage.”
Moreover, Apple is just getting started. According to another finding from the report, more than 32 million adult Americans are planning to purchase an iPod within the next 12 months. Now that’s a lot of iPods.
This study surveyed a random sample of 1,002 adult American consumers. The report examines ownership rates, demand for portable digital music players, online music service subscriptions, trends in PC usage for downloading music, downloading vs. buying music CDs, music piracy, consumer familiarity with Sony’s Walkman Phone, its market viability and how it stacks up against Apple’s iPod. Beyond that, it also looks at the overarching modern music experience and its impact on the music radio industry.
Related MacDailyNews articles:
Needham & Co: Apple ‘iPod Halo Effect’ fueling Mac purchases; predict 43 million iPod sales in 2006 – July 18, 2005
Apple smashes street with record revenue, earnings; shipped 6.155 million iPods – July 13, 2005
