MP3 sales going nuts

People everywhere have strange ear buds with loud thumping music blasting out of their bags and pockets. No, it’s not weird alien mind control, it’s just the hugely popular MP3 player.

IDC's latest research, "Fighting for a Piece of Apple's Pie" found that portable MP3 player unit shipments grew by 190.8 percent in 2005, reaching 1.95 million units.

Growth was mainly attributed to the portable flash segment, which grew by 392.4 per cent in shipments last year.

IDC said Apple's withdrawal of the popular iPod Mini (jukebox) and the subsequent replacement of the iPod Nano (flash) signifies the market shift from jukebox to flash.

The flash segment would grow at the expense of the jukebox segment as flash capacities increase from 1GB in 2005 to reach 4GB in 2006, 8GB in 2007 and 16GB in 2008.

The portable MP3 player market would experience a compound annual growth rate of 12.5 percent from 2005 to 2010, reaching 3.52 million unit shipments in 2010, IDC said.

The addition of video capabilities in MP3 players would prompt some consumers to seek out and acquire video content.

Sophie Lo, analyst for consumer digital markets said IDC expected that PMPs will face competition from alternative devices such as the PlayStation Portable (PSP), MP3 players with video support, portable DVD players, in-car entertainment systems and mobile TV.

“Unsure consumers will initially flock to video-enabled mobile phones or MP3 players. However, as more consumers are accustomed to portable video viewing, the demand for more sophisticated devices, with better suited interface for consumption of multiple forms of digital content, would drive the PMP market,” she said.