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MacBook Pro appears on Amazon's 2010 bestseller list
The iPhone and the iPad both made eBay's "top-shopped" list for the year, but neither of those devices are sold on Amazon, so they weren't to be found on the big online retailer's annual list of bestselling items. The Kindle was, of course -- it's Amazon's own e-reader, and it was both the bestselling and most wished-for item on the site in the Electronics category. But while Apple's iOS devices didn't make the list, there was one major Apple item that did. In the Computers category, the MacBook Pro with the 13.3" screen scored as both the bestselling and most wished-for item. Apple's excellent laptop appears to be the computer of choice for Amazon shoppers. The only other specifically Mac item on the list was the Mac/Windows version of Photoshop, which was the most gifted item in the software category (Microsoft Office was the bestselling item in that category). One smartphone did make the bestselling list, and it was the Samsung Captivate Android phone (again, probably only because the iPhone isn't for sale on Amazon.com). Some of the other items on the list are funny, too -- who knew so many people needed Donut Shop K-Cups? For work coffee, you think? [via Mashable]
Amazon's third-gen Kindle is now its best-selling product... of all time!
Consider all the things you've bought from Amazon, all the things you wanted to, but couldn't afford to buy from Amazon, all the wildly popular fashions and fads that have gone through that online store's brief, but torrid history ... each of those has now been overshadowed by the mighty sales of the third-generation Kindle. Jeff Bezos and team have today announced that their latest and greatest Kindle has become their bestselling product of all time, thanks in no small part to an aggressive price that's been "low enough that people don't have to choose," as Jeff puts it, between an e-reader and a tablet -- they've just gone and bought both, apparently. Alas, we're still no closer to knowing the exact figure of Kindle sales, but who really cares at this point, the thing's looking like a runaway success.
Avatar smashes Blu-ray sales records, has some owners ready to smash incompatible players
Well, well. Our friend Jimmy C.'s (who cancelled on our planned interview last week, but it's cool) little indie project has taken the all-time Blu-ray sales crown for North America in just four days. That's how long it took for Avatar to move 2.7 million Blu-ray discs, ahead of The Dark Knight's 2.5 million number, showering viewers with that incredibly high bitrate audio and video (other than some pleading for more low end thump, we haven't heard any complaints.) The downside for a few, including one Crunchgear editor, is that the movie shipped with a new version of BD+ encryption and has had trouble playing on certain Blu-ray players, including the BD-UP5000, BD-C5500, as well as several Pioneer units (fixed after a firmware update.) Some owners have found a way around the issues for the BD-C5500, but there's no word when an update to take care of things completely may be incoming. If you're wondering how much time the extra DRM bought Fox & co. before the BDRips started floating around, DVDFab claimed to break it the same day the movie launched, while Slysoft's AnyDVD HD has offered compatibility with some, if not all, region releases the day after. So much for that ten year prediction.
VIZIO had a better weekend than you, less tequila
Don't think for a second VIZIO is planning on giving up that "America's#1 LCD HDTV Company" title, announcing it sold over 280,000 televisions over the Black Friday week. That's a 40% increase over last year, with 50,00 120/240Hz TVs in the mix and over 20,000 50-inch+ models. Those soundbars? Over 7,000 moved. It would appear that moving slightly upmarket with its pitch (as prices in general have plunged) has been a winning strategy for the company, we'll sit back and see how happy the competition is with their 4Q performance, and what, if anything, the other LCD manufacturers can do to wrestle the crown away.
Bargain hunters make Vizio LCDs most popular in US -- for now
In these difficult times people are looking to buy what's cheap, a state of mind that Vizio's iSuppli's latest press release isn't ashamed to apply, lauding the company's status as the current most popular brand of LCD television in these United States. It owned a 21.6 percent chunk of the US LCD TV market in the first quarter, up from 13.8 in the quarter before and beat out Samsung to be king of the liquid crystal hill -- largely thanks to prices that were, on average, between $150 and $400 lower than the competition. Kudos to the brand and we hope that it enjoys this moment, because with imports of new sets banned out on bond it must be tough paying an extra $2.50 on each one coming through Customs. Full press release after the break.Update: To be clear: this is actually a press release issued by iSupply talking about Vizio, not by Vizio.
US phone sales in October: Curve still in the driver's seat
It's a shame AvianResearch and NPD can't meet up over a couple whiskey sours, figure out a game plan, and go forward with a unified tabulation method for their research -- but until that happens, we're probably going to have to deal with NPD claiming the iPhone 3G is the best-selling phone in the US and AvianResearch saying differently. Anyhoo, RIM's Curve joined forces across AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile to keep its coveted spot atop the list (and with the 8900 waiting in the wings, this can only mean good things for the Curve's future here). Notably new to the list are the G1 -- debuting in the number 7 spot -- and the HTC Touch Diamond, hanging in there at number 10. Anyone care to wager on how the G1 will fare here over the next few months?
Nokia's 1100 handset: over 200 million served
Sales records typically don't stand for too long without being overtaken by the next best thing, but somehow, Nokia's el cheapo 1100 handset has reportedly racked up "over 200 million sales" since it launched in 2003. You heard right, this low-end candybar has put the 100 million iPods, 50 million RAZRs, 10 million Chocolates, and 115 million PlayStation 2 consoles to shame in terms of sheer units moved. Interestingly enough, the design team that conjured up this cash cow originally dubbed it "Penny," and the stripped down, dust-proof mobile purportedly entered the market at precisely the right time to catch the booming overseas growth as folks worldwide began snapping up their own cellphone. Of course, such a basic, uninspiring phone isn't for everyone, but considering the 200 million strong that owned one sometime during their life, we'd say Nokia found a winner.[Via Celularis, thanks Mariano]
The bestselling games of all time
Gaming Steve's asking the question "What is the bestselling video game of all time?", and better still, he's found some answers. Super Mario Bros. takes the Guinness Book of World Records' accolade, helped in no small part by its bundling with the NES.With innovative title The Sims taking the PC top spot and Pac-Man walking off with the coin-op crown, it's unsurprising to see that all three games have given rise to spinoffs, sequels and copycats galore. However, while Mario's still running riot, you don't see much of Pac-Man nowadays. The lesson to publishers? Bundling games, repurposing content and milking franchises may see you clear to the top spot, but you'll have to work jolly hard to outsell Mario.
