“As Australians become increasingly less wired in the ways they access the Internet, a greater focus is being placed on laptop-style computers rather than fixed desktops,” said Tony Marlow, Research Director for Nielsen Online.

Other highlights of the report include:

• Australians spent an average of 89.2 hours per week consuming media, up from 84.4 hours in 2007 and 71.4 hours in 2006.
• They spent 16.1 hours per week online, up from 13.7 hours in 2007.
• They like to multitask, with 61 percent watching TV while online.
• Mobile ownership has almost reached a saturation point with 92 percent now reporting owning a mobile phone.

View the full press release with more information here.

The Xbox 360 garnered the largest share of online buzz between November 1 and December 9, with 41.6% of blog messages mentioning Xbox, Wii or Playstation.

In comparison, Nintendo’s Wii was mentioned in 29.8% of game console blog messages, while Sony’s Playstation ranked third with mentions in 28.6% of gaming-related blog posts.

Among gift-related online buzz, TV-related terms, mentioned in 52.5% of gift-related messages, dominated blogosphere chatter.

DVDs (24.4% share), toys (11.3% share), laptops (8.4% share), and GPS (3.4% share) rounded out the select five gift ideas.

View the press release.