The real loser continues to be RIM and the catch-all ‘Other’ which would cover Windows Mobile, Windows Phone, WebOS, Symbian, etc. While 18% of all smartphone users use a Blackberry, and 11% use one of the other platforms, in the past three months only 9% of new smartphone sales have been Blackberrys and only 6% are other platforms, which are pretty much Windows Phone 7 and WebOS in today’s market.

Also significant, the smartphone user base continues to grow. While only 43% of US cellular subscribers have a smartphone, in the past three months 56% of new activations were smartphones instead of feature phones or basic models. These figures are even more significant in that the three month recent subscribers numbers are a fairly reliable predictor of the market as a whole. The share of recent adoptions using smartphones historically leads the market share as a whole by around 15%. So the pool of smartphone users in the US is showing healthy growth.

The pie is getting bigger, and iPhone and Android are taking the lions share of it. Heading into the fall and the holiday buying season things look good for iPhone (especially if the iPhone 5 launches), positively great for Android, and pretty much abysmal for everyone else. RIM needs to pull a rabbit out of their hat soon, and Blackberry OS 7 sure isn’t it. As corporate IT departments increasingly offer a choice of Blackberry, iPhone, or Android devices, instead of mandating Blackberry, RIM’s traditional stronghold is crumbling.

Via Nielsen Wire.

Apple is the HW vendor with the largest single share, as they’re the sole maker of iPhones an thus claim 28% of the market in HW. HTC and RIM are tied for the second spot with 20% apiece. HTC’s 20% is split – 14% from Android and 6% from Windows phones. If the trends continue HTC will probably push RIM into the 3rd slot in HW very soon, if they haven’t already. Motorola claimed 11% of the HW market, and Samsung 10% – split 8% Android, 2% Windows.

As RIM continues to decline this is really turning into a two horse race between Android and iOS, with Android continuing to grow at a faster pace. It may be a while before any single Android HW maker overtakes Apple though, if it happens.

Nielsen via Engadget Mobile.

According to Nielsen Media research’s numbers, these are the five most time-shifted shows for the week of September 22-28.

Those are some pretty significant increases over the number of people who watched the episodes ‘live’. 28% of homes now have DVRs, up from 20% last fall. While new DVR users are reportedly not as fanatic about recording their programs, the sheer increase in numbers is having a growing impact on network programming. And the biggest impact is from viewers in their 30s, a prime audience. While the seven day numbers look good, networks still sell advertising based on lower three day ratings numbers. The industry needs to accept that DVRs are not only hear to stay, but rapidly consuming the market, and largely in the most valuable demographics, so advertising sales will need to adapt. It is really up to the networks to collectively take a stand and force change on the ad industry.

I found the report interesting reading just from the data on the numbers of actual product placements. I was surprised by just how many placements there are. For example, in the first half of 2008 American Idol alone had 4,636 product placements, followed by Biggest Loser with 4,364. Coca-Cola was the top brand, with 2,990 placements. The market was bombarded with 204,919 product placements in just the first half of 2008. So if you thought there were a lot of products slipped into your shows, you’re right.

Not surprisingly, reality programing has the most product placements as its easier to work products in than it is in a scripted show. But with the deluge of reality shows clogging up the airwaves, there may be too many programs to go around. Audiences can only take so much, and with more shows on the air advertisers may not get as much of a concentration of viewers.

Personally I abhor most reality shows and do everything I can not to watch them. I guess I few shows I watch, like Iron Chef America, technically fall into the category though. But even avoiding the big reality shows, I’ve noticed a growing amount of product placement. One of the shows I enjoyed last season, The Big Bang Theory, had a lot of product placement worked into the program. Characters made very obvious use of Dell laptops, and one character works at The Cheesecake Factory, as is mentioned repeatedly. This season of Eureka is partly sponsored by Degree antiperspirant, which includes fairly intrusive, annoying product placement in the program itself. It is so clumsily handled that it’d be better if the characters just stopped and pitched the product for 30 seconds. It is annoying enough to make me want to never use the product.

I wonder if the increasing ‘in your face’ aspect of product placements is a symptom of the same saturation effect. It reminds me very much of web-based advertising, and how ads became increasingly aggressive with pop-ups, pop-unders, sound, animation, etc. Desperately trying to attract consumers, while in reality it was increasingly driving them away. Unfortunately I don’t expect an ad-blocker for product placements any time soon.

Spotted through Silicon Valley Insider.

Nielsen categorized DVR owners into three categories, based on how much they time shift programming.

Heavy shifters, mostly women aged 18-49, are heavy TV viewers and shift nearly one-half of their total viewing using DVRs.

Medium shifters watch slightly more TV than an average person and shift about one-third of their programs.

Light shifters — which Nielsen classified as being 70% of DVR households — watch less television than normal people and shift about 10% of their shows, mostly to catch episodes they may have missed.

If heavy shifters shift ‘nearly one-half’ of their viewing, I must be depleted uranium. 100% of my TV viewing, at home at least, is via TiVo.

Via EngadgetHD.

I don’t think it is that surprising that young users are more likely to embrace tech and new ways to obtain media.