Where in the world are those 18.6 million iPod touches?
Apple (AAPL), for reasons known only to itself, does not report the number of iPod touches it has sold.
But it lets you do the math, and on Tuesday COO Tim Cook casually mentioned, in response to a question about the App Store, that the total installed base of iPhones (26.4 million) plus iPod touches (X) is now 45 million.
So where are those 18.6 million iPod touches?
Nearly 12 million are in the United States, according to a report on the geographical distribution of Apple mobile devices issued Thursday morning by AdMob, the leading mobile ad platform. That makes sense, given that Americans buy the lion's share of all Apple handsets, and the company has been particularly aggressive about marketing the iPod touch to U.S. students in its back-to-school computer sales.
But if you look at AdMob's region-by-region breakdown, the iPod touch is surprisingly popular overseas.
In Latin America, for example, the ratio of iPhones to iPod touches is virtually identical to North America's. Apple has sold more than 327,000 in Mexico alone, according to AdMob's estimates, which apparently is more than the total number of iPhones sold in that country.
iPod touches are even more popular in Canada. According to AdMob, Canadians have purchased more than 1.36 million iPod touches but only 805,594 iPhones.
iPod touch sales are also strong, relative to iPhone sales, in Oceania, Asia and Western Europe. The device is less popular in Africa and least popular in Eastern Europe.
Wordwide, according to AdMob, the ratio of iPhones to iPod touches on its network in June was roughly 2 to 1. In other words, iPhones represented 68% of Apple handsets and the iPod touch made up the other 32%. This ratio has remained constant over the last several months, according to AdMob, implying a similar growth rate for both devices worldwide.
Below: AdMob's country-by-country iPod touch sales estimates, obtained by multiplying AdMob user shares in each country by the total number of iPod touches sold.
Here's the comparable chart for iPhones.
AdMob describes itself as the world's largest mobile advertising platform, serving banner and text link ads on mobile web pages for more than 7,000 publishers. It collects handset and operator data on each of the nearly 95 billion ads it has served since 2006, which enables it to produce charts like these.
For a pdf of the full report, click here.
Re:RE:Re: Canada
If that's the most ignorant thing you've heard today, then you must live a vacuum, or not have a job.
I look at the language you use in your retort (which is actually a defense a major corporation. do they need you help?)…
"not even close to the largest"
"all things considered"
"only ones offering"
"only purchase from … authorized"
… and I have to wonder what _your_ definition of monopoly is.
The fact that we Canadians bought as many iPods as we did, has something to do with:
a) Monopolies don't care about consumer choice
b) Monopolies by their nature will charge exorbitant rates, because they can
iPhones are still more expensive than they are in the U.S., and despite Apple's pressure for the providers to standardize iPhone pricing, Rogers did not comply. They simply did what they have always done, overcharge for services & products because they can.
They may not be the only cellular provider in Canada, but they own Fido and they therefore own the iPhone in Canada. This is a stranglehold. You can call that "exclusivity", but I call it a monopoly.
RE:Re: Canada
That is possibly the most ignorant thing I have read today.
A: Rogers is far from a monopoly. They are not even close to the largest telecom company in Canada(Bell).
B: Rogers plan are actually pretty damn fair all things considered. They are the only gsm provider in Canada. They are the only ones offering true 3G (hspa). Rogers HSPA is among the fastest in the world; independent tests have put them at #2.
C. The ipod touch was out a full generation before the iPhone was even introduced to Canada. Not to mention touches are available at almost every electronics store. While you can only purchase an iPhone from an authorized rogers dealer.
Re: Canada
Have to echo comments in regards to why Canada has chosen the itouch over the iphone.
The iphone is supported by Rogers and Rogers owned Fido. Minimum contract is 3 years at some of the most expensive plans in the world.
Simply put, the iphone would probably have double or triple it's Canadian market share if Rogers wasn't a monopoly (and an awful company)
So this figure gives us an average of 57 apps per unit (1.5 bln/26.4 mln). Do most people really have this many apps on their iHandhelds?
Not to be critical but since the product is "iPod touch", wouldn't the plural of said device be "iPod touchs" rather than "touches?" Or, for another alternative, "iPods touch."
ex ped: I like iPods touch. Wish we could use it.
The US IPod Touches went to Verizon owners who really wanted an IPhone but did not want AT&T or did not want to pay for the data plan. If AT&T offered a plan without the required data cost most of those people would have gone to AT&T
I'm from Canada where there are considerably more touches than iPhones. It's the only country on the chart with that ratio.
We have even less competition that in the USA with a single iPhone carrier and a total of only 3 mobile phone companies who control the entire market and operate more as an oligarchy than competitors. Most people dislike all three phone companies, but the sheer size of the country makes it nearly impossible for any other player to join the market because they'd have to put up tens of thousands of cell towers for relatively few customers.
All that adds up to expensive cell phone plans and the longest contracts in the world at 3 years. It's no surprise at all that we're not keeping up with the rest of the world in iPhone ownership.
The region of Oceania includes Polynesia, Melanesia, Micronesia, New Guinea, and New Zealand, and when it is used as the name of a continent it also includes Australia.
been holding off on buying an ipod type device for years. when i make the decision to buy one, a new model comes out! i'm hearing rumors of the next itouch coming with a camera. that would seal the deal for me.
how credible are the rumors of the hardware additions to the new itouch?
Oceania ..? Did you just make that up….. Where the heck is Oceania?
ex ped: According to the only encyclopedia I have at hand right now, "The boundaries of Oceania are defined in a number of ways. Most definitions recognize parts of Australasia such as Australia, New Zealand, and New Guinea, and all or part of the Malay Archipelago as being parts of Oceania."
Does America actually buy the lions share of Apple products e.g. The iPhone?
ex ped: Easily, since lion's share just means the biggest part. According to AdMob's data, the U.S. share of iPhones sold is 50.2%.
Its true, the iphone has great capabilities, but in canada you dont get good value for what its priced at. to get full functionality out of the phone the plans go for about $100 bucks a month, $1200/yr. – and your still limited by bandwidth, which for any experienced user is a huge issue.