Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, iTunes
iTunes use increased in 2006
Macworld points to this report that claims that iTunes usage nearly doubledgrew a lot in 2006. Growing by 47.5%, the number of unique Apple iTunes users outpaced the growth of RealPlayer (9.1%), QuickTime (8.7%) and Windows Media Player (2.0%). These numbers derive from Neilsen/NetRatings. One presumes that many of those installations relate directly to iPod sales. I expect the introduction of AppleTV (should it ever get around to shipping because darn it I am sick of waiting) to boost iTunes installation numbers as well.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Alex Morse said 3:34PM on 3-01-2007
This is interesting info, but I have to note that it is based on streaming content.
The majority of people don't use their media players for streaming content, so I'm not sure how good of a meter this really is for anything.
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Joe said 3:58PM on 3-01-2007
Unique users of streaming content? I agree with Alex, these numbers mean next to nothing if you want to know how much use any of the platforms had.
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Jon said 4:16PM on 3-01-2007
I don't think RealPlayer is more popular than iTunes (everyone I know hates it), but as it is designed for streaming content, obviously it will be highly ranked on this list.
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derek said 6:50PM on 3-01-2007
Ummm.... Windows Media Player is KILLING iTunes... I like WMP 11 better than iTunes, just can't use it in Mac OS...
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sam said 8:03PM on 3-01-2007
Who uses iTunes for streaming content? In any case, isn't Quicktime a required component when installing iTunes, which is what allows it to do the streaming?
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lM ll lL lL S said 8:45PM on 3-01-2007
think about how many computers have windows media player on them by default...like 95%?
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RK said 12:04AM on 3-02-2007
Isn't QuickTime required for iTunes, so shouldn't QuickTime have more unique users iTunes?
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Grover said 2:04PM on 3-02-2007
I'm actually not aware of ANY streaming content in iTunes other than the radio stations. iTS content does not qualify as streaming.
In streaming media, the user doesn't have a choice. If the content is WM then they have to use Windows Media Player to view it (Flip4Mac not withstanding). This would should very little regarding user preferences and more about the media that is being produced.
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