Reuters says some schmoes thinks Amazon only has 8% of the legal music download market:

But Piper Jaffray financial analyst Gene Munster estimates that Amazon will sell 130 million tracks this year -- a paltry sum compared with the 2.4 billion songs iTunes is expected to sell in 2008.


Man, if Amazon can't do it, I don't think anyone can. They do go on to say Amazon isn't doing much marketing. I wonder if they're worried they'll just cannibalize their own CD sales. Still, the interface is slick, the mp3s are DRM-free and high-quality, and the selection ain't bad. I've been meaning to figure out the percentage of tracks I've gotten from Amazon vs. iTunes over the last year. I think it's 100% Amazon. At most, one or two singles from Jobs.

According to NPD Group surveys, only 10 percent of the music fans who bought tracks from Amazon also reported getting them from iTunes. Amazon's customers are predominantly male -- 64 percent, compared with 44 percent for iTunes. The service is also stronger with older demographics: A third of Amazon buyers are 26-35, another third 36-50. Most iTunes users are younger.


Kinda makes sense, doesn't it? If I'm buying quickly and not real worried about over-engineering my purchases (ie, I'm only going to listen on my iPod, don't really care to open a browser window, etc), I think I go iTunes. If I'm a typical older dude, well, I'm doing the painful cheapskate shopping and these extra steps seem warranted.

(I should take the time to explain that in a readable format at some point.)

Now these Amazon advantages show where the touch's store comes in handy. I managed to borrow one for a week. Man, that's a neat device. You don't even need headphones to want to use it all the freakin' time, though I'll admit being upset at how slowly you can type emails. Gmail's interface through Safari on the touch is also better than Apple's built-in Mail, which stinks. Biggest advantage for Mail in my test? The automatic "Sent from my iPod" line, which explains the shortness and saves you time typing that explanation. I'm not sure how to import Gmail contacts, or if I can, but the touch didn't do it for me. In any event, a very cool, WiFi on the go device, if the touchscreen is easily scratched. (It wasn't me. I swear.)

But back on task... if you want to add tracks while you're walking around -- and I assume it's the same for the iPhone -- guess what? Yep, iTunes AAC only. Clever. iPod touch/iPhone + store in your pocket == happy Apple.

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