 RAIN 5/20: iPad could depose "at least" PCs; webcasters should be prepared AS PC SALES DROP, TABLETS SALES EXPECTED TO “BALLOON”Something is “wreaking havoc” on PC sales. HP saw PC sales drop 23% last quarter and Dell experienced a 7.5% decline. Global PC shipments fell 3.2%, according to the Washington Post (here).
At the same time, analysts expect iPad sales to “balloon” from 70 million units in 2011 to 246 million in three years. “You’re walking into a buzz saw,” said one senior analyst. “The tablet is going to replace at least the home computer.” “Taken together it’s easy to conclude that the relatively new tablets are cannibalizing PC sales,” writes CNet (here). “[But] the more accurate conclusion is that tablets are establishing themselves as a replacement for a second or third computer.” Whatever the case, one thing is clear: Tablet sales are increasing and PC sales are dropping. Webcasters should take note of this and prepare for a future where just as many people tune in via tablets as through desktops and mobile devices. That could mean creating an iPad-optimized app or ensuring any tablet device — even ones without Flash — can play friendly with your website. — MS, PM SLACKER: 26m USERS, 68 PDs, 1.4k SONGS PER SECOND Slacker CEO Jim Cady offered some interesting data about the customizable web radio service at Radio Ink‘s Convergence 11 yesterday. Slacker has 26 million registered users, for example.
The service includes 150 curated stations, programmed by 68 program directors. “They have no rules, just build the best radio station for the consumer,” said Cady (pictured on the cover of Radio Ink at left). Slacker also plays around 1,400 songs per second and collects 65 million “pieces of data” from users every day. Radio Ink has more coverage here. APPLE ’09 PATENT APPLICATION “COVERS SOMETHING PANDORA & SPOTIFY HAVE DONE FOR YEARS”A recently-unearthed patent application Apple submitted in 2009 attempts to cover the pre-buffering of songs on mobile devices for streaming music. That’s “something that both Pandora and Spotify have been doing for years,” writes Eliot Van Buskirk at Evolver.fm. “Can Apple patent something that these other companies are already doing? Stranger things have been known to happen.” Read more coverage here. NIELSEN: $10/MONTH THE “SWEET SPOT” FOR SUBSCRIPTION SERVICESA new study from Nielsen found that $10-per-month is the “sweet spot” for web subscription services. However, 65% of respondents told Nielsen that they would not pay anything for streaming radio services (or for news or sports).
Notes All Things Digital: “This is what people say they’re willing to pay, not what they’re actually paying for—it’s poll data, not sales data.” So bring your trusty grain of salt along as you read more coverage here. share: del.icio.us.  Reddit  Digg  Yahoo  Wink  Windows  Google  Newsvine 
CommentCommenting is closed for this article.  Other stories RAIN has upgraded (and moved)! RAIN 9/13: RAIN Summit Chicago takes place today! RAIN 9/12: First Summit in RAIN's hometown takes place tomorrow RAIN 9/9: Summer holidays, "doldrums" impact July Webcast Metrics, but audience up over last year RAIN 9/8: Clear Channel launches new customizable iHeartRadio beta; RAIN goes hands-on RAIN 9/7: Meet more speakers you'll hear at RAIN Summit Chicago in less than a week RAIN 9/6: Clear Channel taps The Echo Nest to take on Pandora RAIN 9/2: RAIN reviews Spotify's radio-like product Artist Radio RAIN 9/1: UK online radio aggregator Radioplayer campaigns b'dcasters to create "all radio" ratings RAIN 8/31: Execs from Merlin, Triton Digital, jacAPPS and more to appear at RAIN Summit Chicago |
