nielsen

Google, Apple, and RIM are all vying for the top spot among the smartphones. But which one is dominant depends on whether you look at operating systems or devices, according to new data from Nielsen.

Among mobile operating systems, Google's Android has surged into first place in the United States, grabbing 29 percent of the market, compared with 27 percent for Research In Motion's BlackBerry OS and 27 percent for Apple's iOS.

That left a 10 percent share for Microsoft's Windows Mobile and Windows Phone 7 combined, 4 percent for HP's Palm WebOS, and 2 … Read more

Today is one of those days when investors who sensed Netflix's potential years ago but didn't buy in may be kicking themselves.

The Web's top movie-rental service today saw its shares soar 7 percent to $247.55, and set a new all-time high for the company. Netflix shares have steadily risen since January 26, when the company posted fourth-quarter earnings that featured big gains in profits and subscribers.

Since then, Netflix shares have climbed more than 30 percent.

Sure, the news today about how Qualcomm will help enable Android handsets to playback Netflix's streaming video had … Read more

On today's show, we've got a new meme, new details about the Comcast/NBCU merger, and new comments from Apple dismissing Android tablets as both "bizarre" and "vapor." Ok, guys, whatever you say. Verizon offers $200 off iPhone 4 upgrades, in case that takes the sting out a little, and we discuss the rise of universal app stores, consumer confusion over 4G, and sharks in the streets of Australia. It's a wide-ranging show, folks. --Molly

It should come as no surprise that Apple and Android are the two "most desired" smartphone systems, according to a new Nielsen survey of mobile phone users. But the results vary a bit based on the people who were surveyed.

Among current smartphone owners questioned by Nielsen, the survey results out today show that 35 percent are looking to buy an iPhone as their next device, while 28 percent plan to go for an Android phone. But among those who currently own a feature phone and want to upgrade to a smartphone, 25 percent are eyeing an iPhone … Read more

Before we get into today's Cyber Monday madness, we're taking a moment to pay tribute to Leslie Nielsen, who passed away yesterday at age 84 from pneumonia complications. His repertoire includes some of our favorites, like the "Naked Gun" series and of course "Airplane"--RIP to one of the most influential comedians of our time.

Today is Cyber Monday, the magical post-Thanksgiving day when online stores slash their virtual prices to give shoppers a hint of what happened in person on Black Friday.

According to Coremetrics, online sales on Black Friday went up 15.9 percent from last year, thanks to social-networking Web sites spreading the instant word on shopping tips and real-time inventory updates. The company also noticed a rise in "surgical shopping," with people focusing on specific products instead of randomly browsing.

Check out CNET's Cyber Monday Gift Guide to stay updated on today's best deals, including $89 Amazon Kindle e-Readers, console and computer games starting at 90 cents, and more.

Wilson also surprises us with a 4Loko that he picked up this morning for breakfast. The FDA actually banned all eight flavors as of this week after several kids died from alcohol poisoning, also called the Four Loko "aftereffects." Think we're kidding? Check out what happens to the dude who goes on a 24-hour Four Loko Diet.

Plenty of voice mails to play today, with special thanks to Blake Stevenson for making us this poster featuring MC TerrorByte and the Yu Tang Clan! Blake became the unofficial 404 artist after winning our 404 logo competition, so be sure to add him on Twitter and fan him up on Facebook!

There's been a lot of talk about people canceling their cable TV subscription to stream video on their TVs over the Net, but consumer research firm Nielsen says the number of people actually doing it is still very small.

Cheryl Idell, an executive vice president at Nielsen, told the blog PaidContent earlier this week that many people may be talking about cutting the proverbial cable cord, but few are actually doing it. According to Nielsen data, only 6 percent of broadband households have already stopped using cable in lieu of cheaper Internet-based TV. Idell admitted that consumers may one … Read more

Research In Motion and Apple are duking it out for the top spot in the U.S. smartphone market, according to the "Global Smartphone Report" released yesterday by Nielsen.

Among the 13,243 smartphone owners polled by Nielsen, Apple's share has grown steadily over the past year, with the iPhone grabbing 28 percent of them all in the third quarter. On the flip side, RIM has seen its share for the BlackBerry drop to 30 percent for the same period. Those numbers include all people in Nielsen's panel who own smartphones.

The difference in demand between … Read more

Nielsen is working on a new way to track online ads that it promises will be more accurate and quicker than today's methods.

Currently in development, the company's Nielsen Online Campaign Ratings will combine a couple different ways of showing advertisers how well their ads are doing.

First, Nielsen will tap into responses from an online panel of users, similar to the way it collects TV ratings from selected viewers. Second, it will set up a tracking method to collect anonymous, aggregated data from Web users who opt in and view an online ad.

Through this approach, Nielsen … Read more

Though more mobile apps are finding their way onto cell phones, their owners aren't all necessarily using them.

Among the 2,252 U.S. adults surveyed for a new Pew Internet study, 1,917 said they use cell phones. Out of those people, 35 percent have mobile apps on their devices. However, only 24 percent of the 1,917 said they actually use those apps, and 11 percent were in the dark, not even knowing if their phones had any apps.

Released Tuesday, the "Rise of Apps Culture" study was based on phone interviews of people ages … Read more