Apple, Nintendo gadgets lead holiday search queries in Europe

[AppleInsider]

European consumers in search of electronics gadgets this holiday shopping season have their eye on products from two primary manufacturers -- Apple and Nintendo -- according to a new market research study.

Commissioned by comScore during the first three weeks of November, the study tracked the frequency of online search inquiries for the most popular gadgets in the U.K., France and Germany, focusing on twenty different products from game consoles and mobile phones to digital music players.

Overall, Nintendo's highly sought after Wii gaming console topped the list with 4.9 million weekly search queries across the three countries, according to the report. Apple's iPod came in second with 3.5 million searches, followed by Nintendo's DS Lite with 3.2 million, Sony's Platstation PSP with 1.9 million, and Apple's iPhone with 1.7 million.

United Kingdom

In the UK specifically, the Apple iPod was the third most searched for item with nearly 1.7 million weekly searches during the first three weeks of November -- including an additional 287,000 weekly searches for the term iPod nano.



Meanwhile, the most popular mobile phone in the UK was the Apple iPhone with 707,000 weekly searches.* Two other phones, the Nokia N95 (237,924) and Samsung U600 (165,032) rounded out the list, albeit with substantially lower numbers of searches.

France

In France, the most searched for gadget online from those selected for the study was the PlayStation PSP, which averaged 781,000 searches per week. It was followed by the Apple iPod with 663,000, and the Nintendo DS Lite with 609,000.
*


The Apple iPhone averaged 303,000 searches per week during the November shopping period. It was joined by two other handsets, the Nokia N95 and the Samsung U600, which averaged 107,000 and 102,000 searches per week respectively.

Germany

And in Germany, the Apple iPod was by far the most searched for gadget in the first three weeks of November, with an average of 1.2 million searches a week. As was the case in the U.K. and France, the Nintendo DS Lite, the company’s latest handheld console, was also popular, with 753,000 searches per week.



Following the November 9 release of the Apple iPhone in Germany, online searches made for the handset increased 495 percent from the October level to 697,000 average weekly searches in November. The recently released Nokia N95 phone also proved popular with 341,000 searches per week.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[melgross]

I would like to see how this translates into actual sales numbers for the same period. Otherwise, we don't know how much of a meaning it has.

[Clive At Five]

[More off topic than on]

Yup, the Wii is king. I got myself one last January and it's the best $300 I ever spent. I thought I'd care about the crappy graphics and I was worried about the limited number of titles at the time, but it's the most fun console I've ever played. The number of software titles are growing, and it's not redundant yet. I personally can not wait for Mario Kart Wii... Online play, baby.

This makes me wish, though, that Apple and Nintendo had a closer relationship. As so many people have said, they seem to share visions and their focus on design, not to mention insane creativity. I know Apple can't afford Nintendo, nor would the big N sell, but a Wii would fit right in to Apple's product line.

-Clive

[MsNly]

Originally Posted by Clive At Five

I know Apple can't afford Nintendo, nor would the big N sell, but a Wii would fit right in to Apple's product line.

Oh, imagine the possibilities...

[SpamSandwich]

Originally Posted by MsNly

Oh, imagine the possibilities...

It's time for the MarioPhone!

[anantksundaram]

Apple and Nintendo. Sigh. That (+ some jewelry for the Mrs.) pretty much sums up the Christmas shopping list in our household.

[MiMiC]

Originally Posted by Clive At Five

[More off topic than on]

Yup, the Wii is king. I got myself one last January and it's the best $300 I ever spent. I thought I'd care about the crappy graphics and I was worried about the limited number of titles at the time, but it's the most fun console I've ever played. The number of software titles are growing, and it's not redundant yet. I personally can not wait for Mario Kart Wii... Online play, baby.

This makes me wish, though, that Apple and Nintendo had a closer relationship. As so many people have said, they seem to share visions and their focus on design, not to mention insane creativity. I know Apple can't afford Nintendo, nor would the big N sell, but a Wii would fit right in to Apple's product line.

-Clive

I was just going to ask if anyone had one and what they thought. You answered my Q.

Thanks

Hey, stop by Diana's website and check out some great new music.

[anantksundaram]

Originally Posted by melgross

I would like to see how this translates into actual sales numbers for the same period. Otherwise, we don't know how much of a meaning it has.

As you are probably aware, there's an old model that marketing folks (rightly or wrongly) use called "A.I.D.A": Awareness --> Interest --> Desire --> Acquisition (each stage implicitly assumed to be a necessary condition for the next).

I suppose what we are witnessing here is A.I.D., which can't be all bad.......

[melgross]

Originally Posted by anantksundaram

As you are probably aware, there's an old model that marketing folks (rightly or wrongly) use called "A.I.D.A": Awareness --> Interest --> Desire --> Acquisition (each stage implicitly assumed to be a necessary condition for the next).

I suppose what we are witnessing here is A.I.D., which can't be all bad.......

Yes, but sadly, there is no equation that can actually tell us what percentage will actually get to that final stage.

[Ireland]

Originally Posted by Clive At Five

I know Apple can't afford Nintendo, nor would the big N sell, but a Wii would fit right in to Apple's product line.

-Clive

Having owned both consoles, but preferring the PS3, I can't say I could agree with that statement. I get where you're coming from though. But I just don't see it ever happening. If Nintendo were willing to sell I don't think Jobs would buy them, even if Apple could afford it.

[melgross]

Screw Nintendo. Apple should buy Nvidia. They are worth almost exactly $19 billion.

A point that is worth remembering is that Apple doesn't have to buy a company outright. They can make a hefty investment that would cost much less, yet would get them board representation, and possibly even a veto over other matters. $10 billion would give them outright control (though it might be a bit more because of stock movement).

Then we would have all the graphics boards we wanted.

Of course, Apple could make all the graphics boards we wanted now, but that's a different story.