Nintendo Wii and Apple iPhone Rank as the Leading Gadgets this Christmas Across Europe Based on Online Search Frequency

Comscore reports the frequency of online searches for popular gadgets

LONDON, U.K., DECEMBER 10, 2007 – Comscore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released the results of a study of the frequency of online search inquiries for the most popular gadgets in the U.K., France and Germany this Christmas. The products studied were twenty different models of gadgets from the game console, mobile phone, and portable music player segments. The study covers the early stages of the Christmas shopping season during the first three weeks of November.

Cross-Country Popularity

Across the U.K., France and Germany the most popular gadget was the Nintendo Wii, with an average of 4.9 million weekly searches. The second most searched for gadget was the Apple iPod with 3.5 million searches. Rounding out the top five were the Nintendo DS Lite, the Sony Playstation PSP, and the Apple iPhone.

Bob Ivins, Comscore EVP of European Markets said, “We know that music players, game consoles, and mobile phones are very popular with consumers this year. The interesting aspect of this study is identifying which products are generating the most consumer searches, which can provide retailers and manufacturers with important insight into the underlying consumer demand for each specific product.”

* For the three week period Oct 29 – November 18
**Total U.K., French & German Internet Audiences, Age 15+, Home & Work Locations. Excludes traffic from public computers such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs

The U.K.’s Most Popular Gadgets This Christmas

Nintendo Wii was the most searched for gadget in the U.K., averaging 3.7 weekly million searches during the first three weeks of November. Other game consoles generating great interest were the Nintendo DS Lite, the Microsoft Xbox 360, the Sony Playstation PSP, and the Sony Playstation 3.

The Apple iPod was the third most searched for item in the Comscore U.K. list with nearly 1.7 million average weekly searches during the first three weeks of November. The Apple iPod Nano received an average of another 287,000 searches each week.

The most popular mobile phone was the Apple iPhone--leaping onto the list following its November 9 release in the U.K., and generating 707,000 weekly searches. Two other phones, the Nokia N95 and Samsung U600 rounded out the list, albeit with substantially lower numbers of searches.

* For the three week period October 29 – November 18
**Total U.K. Internet Audience, Age 15+, Home & Work Locations. Excludes traffic from public computers such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs

France’s Most Popular Gadgets This Christmas

In France, the most searched for gadget online from those selected for the study was the PlayStation PSP, which averaged 781,000 searches per week. It was followed by the Apple iPod with 663,000, and the Nintendo DS Lite with 609,000.

The Apple iPhone averaged 303,000 searches per week during the November shopping period. It was joined by two other handsets, the Nokia N95 and the Samsung U600, which averaged 107,000 and 102,000 searches per week respectively.

* For the three week period October 29 – November 18
**Total French. Internet Audience, Age 15+, Home & Work Locations. Excludes traffic from public computers such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs

Germany’s Most Popular Gadgets This Christmas

The Apple iPod was by far the most searched for gadget in Germany in the first three weeks of November, with an average of 1.2 million searches a week. As was the case in the U.K. and France, the Nintendo DS Lite, the company’s latest handheld console, was also popular, with 753,000 searches per week.

Following the November 9 release of the Apple iPhone in Germany, online searches made for the handset increased 495 percent from the October level to 697,000 average weekly searches in November. The recently released Nokia N95 phone also proved popular with 341,000 searches per week.

*For the three week period October 29 – November 18
**Total German Internet Audience, Age 15+, Home & Work Locations. Excludes traffic from public computers such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs

Methodology

The twenty different models of gadgets from the game console, mobile phone, and portable music player segments that were analysed in the study were: Apple iPhone, Apple iPod, Apple iPod Nano, Apple iPod Touch, Barbie Girls MP3 Player, Creative Zen, HTC Touch Dual, LG Prada, Nintendo DS Lite, Nintendo Wii, Nokia N81, Nokia N95, Playstation 2, Playstation 3, Playstation PSP, Sagem RG512, Samsung U600, Sony Ericsson K810i, Sony Ericsson W880I, Xbox 360

About Comscore

Comscore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the digital world. This capability is based on a massive, global cross-section of more than 2 million consumers who have given Comscore permission to confidentially capture their browsing and transaction behavior, including online and offline purchasing. Comscore panelists also participate in survey research that captures and integrates their attitudes and intentions. Through its proprietary technology, Comscore measures what matters across a broad spectrum of behavior and attitudes. Comscore analysts apply this deep knowledge of customers and competitors to help clients design powerful marketing strategies and tactics that deliver superior ROI. Comscore services are used by more than 800 clients, including global leaders such as AOL, Microsoft, Yahoo!, BBC, Carat, Cyworld, Deutsche Bank, France Telecom, Best Buy, The Newspaper Association of America, Financial Times, ESPN, Fox Sports, Nestlé, Starcom, Universal McCann, the United States Postal Service, Verizon, ViaMichelin, Merck and Expedia. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com

Ayaan Mohamud
Comscore, Inc.
+ 44 (0) 207-099-1775
worldpress@comscore.com