Sony
The Cupertino, California-based companys market share in Japan climbed to 58 percent in the week ended Sept. 13, exceeding Sonys 32.1 percent, the researcher said on its Web site today. Sony had 47.4 percent the previous week, compared with Apples 37.1 percent, BCN said.
Apple on Sept. 9 introduced a new lineup of iPods, adding a video camera, FM radio and a pedometer to iPod Nano. The company also cut the prices of the 8-gigabyte iPod Touch to $199 and priced a 32-gigabyte model at $299, while a 64-gigabyte version will sell at $399.
Sony fell 0.2 percent to close at 2,420 yen on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, while Japans benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 0.2 percent. The stock has gained 26 percent this year. Apple closed 0.9 percent higher at $173.72 on the Nasdaq Stock Market yesterday.
Jill Tan, a Hong Kong-based spokeswoman at Apple, declined to comment. Yuki Kobayashi, a Tokyo-based spokeswoman at Sony, also declined to comment.
Tokyo-based Sony, whose Walkman cassette players pioneered the portable-music industry in the late 1970s, captured the top share of Japans market in the week ended Aug. 30 for the first time in four years, BCN said on Sept. 2. Sony had 43 percent of the market in the period, compared with Apples 42.1 percent, the researcher said at the time.