Apple sold almost 4 mln iPods, 860K in Q3 2004

Apple has sold 3.72 mln of the players, including 860,000 in Q3 2004. iPod revenue more than doubled to $249 mln from a year earlier in Q3 2004. The iPod had an 82% share of the market in U.S. retail stores in the 12 months ended in August, up from 64% in the same period a year earlier, and 33% two years ago, according to NPD Group. Sales of players that use computer hard disks as storage, like the iPod, will increase almost fivefold to 10.4 mln units this year from 2.1 mln in 2003, according to In- Stat/MDR, a market researcher based in Scottsdale, Arizona. Devices that play MP3 digital music files will surge to 52.4 mln units by 2007, up from about 18 mln this year, In-Stat/MDR said.