The global market for portable music players capable of playing songs downloaded from a computer is expected to reach nearly US$58 billion in revenues by 2008, a market researcher said this week.
Between 2004 and 2008, the market for compressed audio players, also known as MP3 players, is forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 20 percent, International Data Corporation (IDC) said.
Sales of the players, the most popular of which is the iPod from Apple, are expected to increase as prices for the devices fall and their storage capacity increases, IDC analyst Susan Kevorkian said.
Also expected to drive the market is support for the MP3 file format in an increasing number of devices, including DVD players and gaming devices, and the growing popularity of downloading music from the internet.
In terms of number of shipments, the worldwide market for MP3 players is expected to increase to 50 million units in 2008 from 12.5 million units last year.
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