Apple Thoughts: Shuffle Sales Surged 50%

"Sales of Apple's most affordable iPod shot up more than 50 percent a week after the company unveiled new, more compact models that shift the push controls from the player itself to the included pair of earphones. Barclay's analyst Ben Reitzes relayed via a report earlier this week data from market research firm NPD showing that sales of iPod shuffles grew 51 percent the week of March 21st, the first full week the third-generation players were on the market. Sales continued to gain momentum the following week, rising another 10 percent."

Sounds like they have a winner on their hands, and from what our very own Vincent has to say, I'd think he would agree. Combined sales for all ipod models were a different story, showing a 38% decline from the same time last year, which is right along with the industry average for all digital media players. So while some of the decline could be due to the new shuffle, it is more likely due to the economic factors. One caveat, however, is that these figures don't include sales from Apple's online store or distribution centers outside the U.S.