Sony's Walkman Line Outsells iPod In Japan -- Say It Ain't So!

SanDisk themselves have publicly stated that no one can "out iPod theiPod," but evidently Sony did just that. According to a recent survey,Sony's own Walkman brand of digital media players outsold Apple'siconic iPod in Japan last week-- a feat that hasn't been accomplishedin four years. Calling the victory "rare" would be understating thingsdramatically, but the numbers don't lie.


Sony's piece of the Japanese market for portable media players was at43% during the last week in August, while Apple's market share stood at42.1%. The figures were collected by BCN, a marketing research firmbased in Tokyo, Japan. Needless to say the victory was ever so slight,though BCN noted that the Walkman lineup was benefitting from arecently expanded product line and lower overall prices.

Before you throw all praise in Sony's direction, you should probablyknow that it wasn't Sony's own doings that really put it ahead. Thesurvey doesn't include Apple's iPhone as a member of the iPod line, andjust so you know, the iPhone is selling extremely well in Japan. Applethemselves admitted that the traditional iPod was losing its lusterthese days, with the company's iPhone acting as the iPod of manyconsumers. So in the end, the report is actually a bit less stunningthat it sounds, but still, we're going to give credit where it's due.Kudos Sony, now--will you claim the same award two weeks in a row?