RESTON, Va., June 29, 2007 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network/ -- comScore, a leader in measuring the digital world, today released a study on U.S. search activity related to the Apple iPhone, revealing that Americans have conducted an average of 274,000 iPhone-related searches per week since the beginning of the year. iPhone-related search activity is defined as all searches containing any derivation of the term "iPhone."

January iPhone Announcement and June Advertising Campaign Cause Spikes in U.S. Search Activity

Product-specific search activity can provide an important gauge of consumer demand. comScore's study of iPhone-related search activity since the beginning of the year revealed some interesting insights into consumer demand and interest surrounding the iPhone.

When the product was first announced by Apple CEO Steve Jobs at Macworld on January 9, iPhone-related search activity jumped to more than 1.1 million searches during the week ending January 14. From February through May, the number of weekly searches ranged between 80,000 and 200,000, which still represented very high levels of search activity for an individual product. By comparison, even during the post-announcement period the number of iPhone-related searches was comparable with the number of searches for Motorola's "Razr," a well-established and popular cell phone already available to consumers.

Please refer to the graph "Number of iPhone Related Searches by Week" at http://www.comscore.com/press/release.asp?press=1518

As Apple's major iPhone advertising campaign touched off in June, search activity once again spiked with 704,000 iPhone-related searches for the week ending June 10, followed by 727,000 during the week ending June 17, and finally peaking with 1.2 million for the week ending June 24.

"The iPhone launch is likely to be one of the biggest product launches in history, and the activity we're seeing online clearly reflects widespread consumer interest," said James Lamberti, senior vice president of search solutions at comScore. "This study also helps underscore the significant role search plays in both online and offline retail, since many of those researching the product online will be lining up at the bricks-and-mortar retailers to purchase their new iPhones."

iPhone Searchers Interested in Price, Release Date

Through June 24, nearly 6.9 million searches were conducted that included the term "iPhone." Of those searches conducted, more than half (3.7 million) were for "iPhone," while nearly one in ten (638,000) were for "Apple iPhone." The most common related topics were price ("iPhone Price" with 217,000 searches and "Apple iPhone Price" with 57,000 searches) and release date ("iPhone Release Date" with 87,000 searches and "Apple iPhone Release Date" with 26,000 searches).

    Top Click-Thru Destinations from iPhone-Related Searches
    Week Ending Jan. 7, 2007 - Week Ending Jun. 24, 2007
    Total U.S. - Home/Work/University Locations
    Source: comScore qSearch
                                                 Searches            Share of
    Search Term                                     (000)            Searches

    Total iPhone-Related Searches                   6,860              100.0%

    iPhone                                          3,722               54.3%

    Apple iPhone                                      638                9.3%

    iPhone Price                                      217                3.2%

    iPhone Release Date                                87                1.3%

    Apple iPhone Price                                 57                0.8%

    iPhones                                            41                0.6%

    iPhone Cingular                                    36                0.5%

    New Apple iPhone                                   34                0.5%

    Apple iPhone Mobile Phone                          26                0.4%

    Apple iPhone Release Date                          26                0.4%

iPhone-Related Searches Generate 2 Million Click-Thrus to Apple.com

iPhone-related searches generated more than 7.8 million click-thrus to Web sites since the beginning of the year, led by Apple.com with 2.3 million. Other top click-thru destinations include top gadget blogs Engadget.com (288,000 click-thrus) and Gizmodo.com (272,000 click-thrus). Meanwhile, the Web sites for AT&T and Cingular, which have the exclusive carrier rights to the iPhone, generated 151,000 and 124,000 click-thrus, respectively.

    Top Click-Thru Destinations from iPhone-Related Searches
    Week Ending Jan. 7, 2007 - Week Ending Jun. 24, 2007
    Total U.S. - Home/Work/University Locations
    Source: comScore qSearch

                                             Click-Thrus           Share of
    Web Domain                                  (000)             Click-Thrus

    Total iPhone-Related
     Search Click-Thrus                         7,873                  100.0%

    Apple.com                                   2,363                   30.0%

    Engadget.com                                  288                    3.7%

    Gizmodo.com                                   272                    3.5%

    Blogspot.com                                  217                    2.8%

    Google.com                                    199                    2.5%

    ATT.com                                       151                    1.9%

    Cingular.com                                  124                    1.6%

    YouTube.com                                   113                    1.4%

    EverythingiPhone.com                           89                    1.1%

    CNET.com                                       85                    1.1%

Added Mr. Lamberti, "In a previous study conducted by comScore, we found that product-related searches in the consumer electronics category can result in conversion rates as high as 25 percent within 90 days of the search -- when one examines buying that occurs across all channels. Achieving such a high conversion rate may ultimately prove difficult with a new product, but if that assumption were to hold true it could yield as much as $1 billion in search-driven iPhone sales when factoring in the $500 to $600 price tag."

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 700 clients, including global leaders such as AOL, Microsoft, Yahoo!, Verizon, Best Buy, The Newspaper Association of America, Tribune Interactive, ESPN, Fox Sports, Nestle, MBNA, Starcom USA, Universal McCann, the United States Postal Service, Merck and Expedia. For more information, please visit http://www.comscore.com.

SOURCE comScore, Inc.

Andrew Lipsman of comScore, Inc., +1-312-775-6510, press@comscore.com

http://www.comscore.com

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