nielsen

Why Jakob Nielsen's Windows 8 critique is old-school thinking

Apple co-founder Steve Jobs was once asked what market research went into the creation of the iPad.

"None," Jobs replied, in one of his most celebrated quotes. "It's not the consumers' job to know what they want."

I was reminded of that when I read usability guru Jakob Nielsen's recent criticism of Windows 8. Having studied "12 experienced PC users" fiddling with the new operating system on both PCs and Microsoft's new Surface tablet, Nielsen found the usability "disappointing."

There is a litany of concerns, but the biggest seems … Read more

iPads once again the top holiday gadget among kids, study says

Kids in the U.S. sure do like Apple gear, says a new study.

According to a recent poll of children ages 6 to 12 in the U.S. by research firm Nielsen, Apple's tablet once again came in first as the most-wanted gadget this holiday season, followed closely by iPods and iPhones. Of those polled, 48 percent said they wanted an iPad.

This is actually the third year in a row Apple's tablet has topped the list. Since 2010, the gadget has beat out computers, and Apple's own iPod Touch. This year's list also includes … Read more

Teens grab up smartphones faster than other age groups

Even though it doesn't really come as a surprise to hear that teenagers love smartphones, there's now new data to back up all previous assumptions.

Young adults aged 25 to 34 own smartphones more than any other age group with 74 percent of the market, according to a new study by Nielsen, which included interviews with 20,000 mobile users in July. However, teens aged 13 to 17 are grabbing up smartphones at a much quicker rate than young adults.

"Interestingly, teenagers between 13 and 17 years old demonstrated the most dramatic increases in smartphone adoption, with … Read more

The Windows 8 'kick me' sign

Look on the flip side of Microsoft's new logo and it says "kick me."

I'm sure Microsoft knew there would be plenty of pushback from bloggers and early adopters in regard to its new operating system. That said, Windows 8's abrupt shift to touch does make it an easy target.

Add a usability expert to that group of Windows 8 skeptics.

That would be Raluca Budiu, a User Experience Specialist at the Nielsen Norman Group.

After reading her comments in an article at Laptopmag.com, I decided to follow up directly and ask her about … Read more

YouTube is teens' No. 1 pick for music listening

Gone are the days of teenagers buying albums and listening to them all the way through, as are the days of following beloved radio DJs and tuning in at the appropriate times. The new generation is opting for their own music curating by means of YouTube, according to a new study released today by consumer research firm Nielsen.

Although many people -- 48 percent -- still discover music through radio, the majority of teens -- 64 percent -- listen to tunes through YouTube. Nielsen's report, called Music 360, takes an in-depth look at how different age groups are buying … Read more

The 404 1,096: Where we try this again (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 show:

- 'People' defend Chic-fil-A on Facebook.

- Chick-fil-A cashier fired for racist receipts.

- Old records outsell new ones for the first time.

- Circuit City's in-home TV calibration is a total scam.… Read more

Harsh: Windows Mobile still more popular than Windows Phone

The headline out of the latest smartphone market share numbers from Nielsen is that Android now operates 51 percent of smartphones in the U.S., but the punchline is that Windows Mobile still holds twice as much market share as its far more attractive successor, Windows Phone.

Ouch. That's the statistical equivalent of American consumers giving Steve Ballmer an atomic wedgie.

Windows Mobile, which used the Windows CE "Pocket PC" kernel, basically sought to jam the Windows desktop into a phone and never gained too much traction or acclaim. Yet somehow, following in the grand tradition of … Read more

Netflix movie streaming takes back stage to TV

Netflix users' taste for movies versus TV are changing. According to data released by Nielsen today, users who were most likely to stream movies dropped by 6 percent from last year, while those who preferred streaming TV rose by 8 percent.

Still, overall, the video streaming service's users like to watch movies -- 47 percent of users are currently most likely to stream movies while 19 percent will stream TV. The remaining users watch both movies and TV equally.

Netflix seems to be paying attention to these numbers as it launches its own original content TV shows. In February, … Read more

Smartphones knock feature phones out of the ballpark

Recently ditched your feature phone for a smartphone? You're not alone. Two out of three people in the U.S. who bought a new phone in the last three months opted for a smartphone, according to new data from research firm Nielsen.

During the second quarter of this year, "smartphone penetration continued to grow, with 54.9 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers owning smartphones as of June 2012," Nielsen wrote in a blog post today.

According to Nielsen, the smartphones of choice in the U.S. are Android, which has 51.8 percent of the country'… Read more