WebProNews

Apple was the top hardware manufacturer site in May 2009, with 55.7 million unique visitors and an average time spent per person of 1 hour and 14 minutes, according to a new report from Nielsen Online.

Excitement surrounding the new iPhone 3GS sent blog mentions up 1,226 percent week-over-week on June 8, the day of the announcement. After the initial announcement, buzz dipped but picked up again after the phone became available on June 19, with blog mentions more than doubling compared to the prior week.

More than a third (37%) of online U.S. adults own a game console, while 10 percent plan on purchasing a new console in the next 12 months.

Game console brands also proved popular online destinations in May. Among game console brands, Nintendo had the largest unique audience with 2.2 million, while Sony Computers Entertainment was the fastest growing, increasing 16 percent year-over-year.

Among the current game consoles, Nintendo Wii was the most popular console owned by online adults, with 14.3 percent. Playstation 2 continues to be the top console owned, despite being an older console, with 17.3 percent of online adults in possession of one.