Apple’s iPhone franchise took home the gold in holiday sales for smartphones, beating back a surging Samsung Galaxy.
Apple’s market share in the fourth quarter fell 2 points, to 39 percent, from year-ago figures, according to a new report from NPD Group. Samsung’s Android-powered Galaxy II and III jumped to 30 percent of the market, from 21 percent in 2011’s fourth quarter.
The two companies’ models are at the top of the league tables for sales, with iPhone 5 taking top-model honors with 43 percent of all smartphone sales.
The top- selling models for the quarter were: iPhone 5, Samsung Galaxy S III, iPhone 4S, iPhone 4 and Galaxy S II.
“Even taking into account the tremendous sales growth of the Galaxy III and other Samsung smartphones, the iPhone is still king of the US market,” said Stephen Baker, of NPD. “In addition to strong US sales of iPhone 5, Apple has been bolstered by strong and continued demand for older, less-expensive iPhone models.”
Based on information from NPD’s monthly Mobile Phone Track service, when comparing the third and fourth quarters of 2012, US iPhone 4 sales increased 79 percent and iPhone 4S sales grew 43 percent. The iPhone 5 accounted for almost 66 percent of all postpaid smartphone sales above $199 as well. –Michael Gray
Cod-given beauty
It’s a good week for Danish model Nina Agdal.
The 20-year-old follows in the foot steps of Kate Upton in a juicy Super Bowl commercial tonight ad for Carl’s Jr./Hardee’s. The ad costs about $3.8 million per 30-second spot.
Clad in a black bikini on the beach in Maui, Hawaii, the Sports Illustrated “Rookie of the Year” in 2012 chows down on the chain’s new charbroiled Atlantic codfish sandwich.
Carl’s Jr./Hardee’s is the fifth-largest restaurant chain in the US.
And earlier in the week Agdal signed on as beauty brand ambassador for European Wax Center, for which she’ll talk about keeping her skin silky and smooth. The model says she was hesitant to try waxing because she was scared it would hurt. But EWC, which uses all natural beeswax made in Paris, changed that. “It made me realize waxing wasn’t painful — awesome!”
Twenty per cent of EWC’s 400 waxing boutiques in the US are in the tri-state area (49 stores), and represent nearly 30 percent of its national revenue. Three more stores are due to open in Manhattan by April. –Julie Earle-Levine
Big Easy money
Speaking of the Super Bowl, we hear that some fans may be drawn less to the athleticism of the contest than to the, um, more financially speculative aspects of the game.
To be blunt, we understand that oddsmakers are laying wagering numbers on everything from the length of Alicia Keys’ rendition of the national anthem (over/under 2:15) to the color of the iced liquid dumped on the winning coach (early favorite: clear/water at 7/4, followed by orange and yellow Gatorade, tied at 5/2).
Strictly amateur stuff. We have a bigger score in mind: How will the venue affect stock prices?
Irrelevant, you say? Well, consider this: Miami and New Orleans (the venue for tonight’s game) are tied for the title of hosting the most Super Bowls, with 10 each. Of the nine previous years that the Crescent City has been the site, the Dow Jones industrial average rose Jan. 1-Dec. 31 in six — including 1972, when the Dow closed above 1,000 for the first time on Nov. 14.
So the back of our envelope says you have a 2/3 chance of picking up some spare sawbucks for Mardi Gras 2014 if you sink some cash into the Dow in 2013.
No need to thank us. Reader service is what we at On the Money are all about. –Post staff
East meets west
David Rockwell, founder and president of NYC’s Rockwell Group, opened the world’s first Nobu hotel and restaurant on Friday.
It’s called Nobu Caesars Palace hotel and restaurant in Las Vegas and is a the sprawling $30 million space, designed by Rockwell.
The hotel will occupy a tower at Caesars Palace and is the first hotel for the swanky Japanese restaurant chain. The 181-room hotel includes 18 suites and a luxury five-bedroom penthouse for $4,000 a night.
“The over-the-top, anything goes razzle-dazzle of Caesars Palace combined with the tranquility of Nobu’s East-meets-West style will be the perfect contrast,” said Rockwell. Vegas is the first of six planned Nobu Hotels.
Nobu first opened in NYC in 1994, and attracts boldface names including Victoria Beckham, Petra Nemcova and Alessandra Ambrosio.–Julie Earle-Levine