Apple's iPad is a must-have holiday item for kids, according to a new survey by research firm Nielsen.
Apple's iPad rates high as a must-have item among kids ages 6 to 12,
according to a new survey by research firm Nielsen. The tablet PC outranked the
Nintendo DS, iPod Touch, Sony PlayStation Portable, and larger gaming systems
such as the PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii.
"With Black Friday approaching, parents may want to get up early Friday
morning to find deals, as a recent survey shows their kids eyeing some
wallet-stretching electronics this holiday season,"
reads
a Nov. 22 posting on Nielsen's corporate blog. "This survey suggests
the electronics aisle will be heavily traveled this season."
Some 31 percent of kids ages 6 to 12 expressed interest in owning an iPad
within the next six months, leading the survey. By comparison, some 29 percent
said the same about the iPod Touch. Some 25 percent desired a Nintendo DS.
Among kids 13 and older, some 19 percent expressed interest in buying a
smartphone within the next six months, followed by the iPad at 18 percent, a Blu-ray
player at 17 percent, an e-reader and Nintendo Wii both at 15 percent,
PlayStation 3 at 13 percent, and an iPod Touch at 11 percent.
In terms of other new electronics hitting the market this holiday season,
some 14 percent of kids between 6 and 12 expressed interest in Microsoft's
Kinect hands-free games controller, outpacing the 8 percent of those aged 13
and older.
Microsoft
is pouring millions into marketing the Kinect, which it hopes will extend
the life of its Xbox 360 franchise.
The iPad currently holds 95.5 percent of the worldwide tablet market,
according to recent data from Strategy Analytics. However, the general
expectation is that the upcoming slate of tablet competitors will somewhat
reduce Apple's market share. Samsung, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Research In
Motion, Acer and other manufacturers all have tablets either headed to market
or in development.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs used his company's
release of its iOS 4.2 update, which brings features such as multitasking to
the iPad, to take a swipe at those competitors. "Once again, the iPad with
iOS 4.2 will define the target that other tablets will aspire to, but very few,
if any, will ever be able to hit,"
he
wrote in a statement posted on Apple's corporate Website.
The iPad represents a substantial line of business for Apple, selling 4.19
million units in the fiscal 2010 fourth quarter. Bernstein Research analyst
Colin McGranahan estimated in October that 2011 iPad revenues would come to $9
billion.
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