Report: 3% of U.S. Teens Surveyed Already Own iPhones
If the 980 students who participate in Piper Jaffray’s bi-annual survey of American teenage buying patterns are any guide, a significant percentage of Apple’s (AAPL) iPhones sold are ending up in the hands of adolescents.
In a report to clients issued this morning, analysts Gene Munster and Michael Olson report that
- 3% of students surveyed own iPhones and an additional 9% expect to buy an iPhone in the next 6 months.
- 4.2% of 212 parents surveyed own iPhones.
Of course, Piper Jaffray’s survey group may not be a fair sample of the broader teen population — and some quick back-of-the-envelope calculations suggest that it isn’t. There are roughly 28 million teenagers in the U.S., and it seems unlikely that they account for 840,000 of the 1.1 million iPhones sold so far. It’s far more likely that Piper Jaffray’s sample is tilted heavily toward a tech-savvy, upper-middle-class demographic.
Still, Munster and Olson’s numbers are useful for showing trends, especially in the MP3 market they’ve been tracking for several years. Their results show that among U.S. teens:
- iPod market share remained steady at 82%.
- Interest in buying a portable media player in the next 12 months increased to 47% (up from 42%).
- Of the 36% of students who legally purchase music online, 79% said they use iTunes (down from 89%).
See chart below the fold.
Source: Piper Jaffray.
[Photo courtesy of intomobile.com.]
I feel as though 3% is not a lot. Adolescents everywhere today have cell phones. Is 3% really that much considering the rest of the population owns the other 97%?
I really don’t feel like I need an Iphone. I feel like I would go over on my minutes or my usage or something. It would wind up costing me a lot. But then again it could be a convenience. I’m gooing to have to look into it. I review online products, check out my site where you can review products or ask me to review certain products, http://scott47.wordpress.com/
No one would like to buy something that is not an Apple !! Heheh, Apple owns the entire market of MP3 and now, the Phone’s too .. and in the future (tv’s and everythings..)
Why doesn’t Elmer report like something like this,
In only 3 short months iPhones have gone on sale, it has already captured 3% of U.S. teen population and additional 9% are going to purchase an iPhone within 6 months according to Piper’s survey.
“Of course, Piper Jaffray’s survey group may not be a fair sample of the broader teen population”
” It’s far more likely that Piper Jaffray’s sample is tilted heavily toward a tech-savvy, upper-middle-class demographic.”
Even if the report was good numbers for Apple, Elmer still has to spin it.
Of course, his “reporting” it you can call it reporting is NEVER BIAS is he?
Apparently Jim from Holland didn’t bother to actually read your entry, but was only commenting based on his bias against your past performance.
Since I’ve complained about some of your previous posts, I think this is a good one. As you’ve suggested, Piper Jaffray’s sample (for parents as well as teens) probably closely matches the affluent demographics of people who visit Apple Stores.
Another negative bias toward Apple from Elmer.
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Silicon Valley veterans like to joke that Steve Jobs must be surrounded by a reality distortion field; if you get too close to him, you start to believe what he's saying. Thanks to the success of the iPod, the launch of the iPhone and the renewed interest in the Mac, Apple has made believers out of millions of customers - and made a lot of investors rich. But Philip Elmer-DeWitt believes that an ounce of skepticism never hurts when writing about the company. He should know. He's been covering Apple - and watching Steve Jobs operate - since 1982, first for Time Magazine, then for Business 2.0, and now for Fortune.
>>> Amy wrote: I feel as though 3% is not a lot. Adolescents everywhere today have cell phones. Is 3% really that much considering the rest of the population owns the other 97%? <<<
iPhone has been on sale for only 3 month and has caputured 3% of the adolescent population. That is a lot.
What do you think the percentage will be end of 2008 by iPhone’s track record so far?