Sony, Apple Lead America’s Preferred Brands

The the seventh straight year, consumer electronics giant Sony leads the listing Harris Interactive’sannual survey of American’s preferred brands.

Sony’s top placement is surprising, given the beating the company took over copy-protection software surreptitiously included in millions of the company’s music CD products, the company’s polarizing position in the looming Blu-ray/HD DVD format war, delays of Blu-ray technology, and disappointment over the pricing of its forthcoming Playstation 3 console. Computer maker Dell held on to its number two position from last year, which is also surprising considering the beating its taken from customers for shutting down support channels and outsourcing customer services overseas. Iconic computer (and music player) maker Apple Computer entered the list for the first time, taking the number 10 spot away from both Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard, who tied for the position last year. HP moved up to number 7; Microsoft has dropped off the top-10 list.

Harris Interactive’s brand survey polled 2,351 U.S. adults between June 7 and June 13, 2006; respondents were asked which three brands they preferred the most without being prompted by named of specific brands. Consumer electronics firms landed five of the top ten slots; automakers nabbed three, while consumer/packaged goods caught the final two. The complete list of preferred brands found by the survey is as follows:

1. Sony
2. Dell
3. Coca-Cola
4. Toyota
5. Ford
6. Honda
7. Hewlett-Packard
8. General Electric
9. Kraft Foods
10. Apple Computer