Week of December 8, 2008

US Census Issues Its Version of Arbitrends

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

If you like looking at monthly Arbitrends, then you're going to love the latest update from the US Census, annual rolling averages of extrapolated population data. In other words, Arbitrends for the US population. There are two kinds of census updates. One is the traditional once-a-decade count of all US households. The other update is one that is done annually to try to get more up to data information on how the US population is changing.

These new annual surveys include a sample of 250,000 household, a fraction of the number included in the decade surveys. To try to make up for this, the Census Bureau will issue 5-year rolling averages every December, juts like your friendly neighborhood ratings service has been doing for sometime. Now, if they could only give us weekly population estimates...

2008 Chart EBay Chart Toppers

Monday, December 8, 2008

Ebay has just released a list of the top selling tech toys and gadgets for 2008. Nintendo Wii took the top spot, with over 2 million sold during the year. Microsoft's Xbox 360 came in at #2, the only other device to sell more than 1 million units. Video game devices and games took the top 3 spots and 6 of the top 10. Here's a full list of the top 10:

1. Nintendo Wii: 2,056,866 related items sold
2. Microsoft Xbox360: 1,297,903 related items sold
3. Sony PSP: 350,591 related items sold
4. iPod Touch: 281,361 related items sold
5. Nintendo Wii Fit: 266,584 related items sold
6. Apple iPhone 3G: 212,837 related items sold
7. BlackBerry Pearl: 207,688 related items sold
8. BlackBerry Curve: 193,788 related items sold
9. Sony Playstation 3: 103,333 related items sold
10. Guitar Hero III: 98,159 related items sold