by , 10:30 AM EST, February 8th, 2002
Apple's QuickTime media software logs more new users than RealNetworks for 2001. According to an Apple press release, by year end of 2001, Apple's QuickTime media software for both Mac and Windows had claimed more news users than RealNetworks. Apple says:
Apple® today announced that the results for calendar year 2001 are in—QuickTime® Player added 80 million new users, exceeding RealNetworks’ addition of 75 million new RealOne and RealPlayer users combined. The source of this data is from recently released information from RealNetworks and Apple. The most recent version of QuickTime, QuickTime 5, was released in April 2001 and is on target to reach 100 million downloads by April 2002.
The growth of QuickTime, Apple’s industry-leading software for creating, playing and streaming audio and video, is being driven by QuickTime’s high-quality user experience, and the broad base of QuickTime-based authoring tools that enable the creation of news, entertainment and virtual reality (VR) content. Additionally, streaming media is increasingly being used by corporations to deliver training, internal corporate communications and live streaming events, such as Apple’s record-setting webcast of the recent Macworld San Francisco keynote introducing the new iMac®.
“The data is simple and clear—in 2001 Apple added more QuickTime users than Real added RealOne and RealPlayer users,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “This doesn’t even take into account the tens of millions of QuickTime players that are being distributed with digital cameras, software titles and enhanced music CDs.”
QuickTime ships with more than 150 digital camera models, demonstrating consumer electronics companies’ use of QuickTime to provide consumers with the highest quality media playback experience. More than one dozen new software titles incorporating QuickTime ship each day, as content creators worldwide choose QuickTime to deliver the fullest media experience.
To learn more about how creative and technology visionaries are using open standards and QuickTime technology to shape the future of digital media, attend the annual QuickTime Live show in Los Angeles, California, February 11 - 14, 2002. To learn more about why QuickTime Live is the event for digital media visionaries to meet, learn and network, visit QuicTime Live web site.
For information about QuickTime, or to get the latest version, stop by Apple's QuickTime web site.
The real meat of this li'l announcement is that Apple should be able to leverage this information in developing additional relationships for QuickTime content. Mind share and market share are big factors in working with conteent providers. That said, downloads should not be confused with actual use. Real definitely commands more market share in the "use" department; a lot of Apple's downloads come specifically from people looking to watch some of the great looking QuickTime trailers for films that Apple has negotiated QuickTime exclusivity. Once those Windows users see the trailer, many simply don't have much call for using QuickTime otherwise.
Most of the multimedia content on the Internet is either Real, Windows Media Player, or generic MPEG files and that's simply a fact. Mac users rely on QuickTime for the latter format, but Windows users don't; they use the Windows Media Player. If Apple can get more QuickTime formatted *content* on the Internet, the QuickTime Player itself will get more use. That brings us full circle to the number of downloads that Apple is touting today, which will hopefully get some notice from some of the nimrod content providers who choose WMA and Real.