Australian MP3 shipments up 190 per cent

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 pervasive popularity of the MP3 player.

According to IDC's latest digital home research, Fighting for a Piece of Apple's Pie the market experienced an extraordinary growth of MP3 players in 2005. The portable MP3 player unit shipments grew by 190.8 percent in 2005 and reached 1.95 million units. This growth was mainly attributed to the portable flash segment, which grew by 392.4 per cent in shipments in 2005.

IDC states 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 will 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 will experience a compound annual growth rate of 12.5 percent from 2005 to 2010, reaching 3.52 million unit shipments in 2010. The addition of video capabilities in MP3 players will provide the introduction of portable video to the mainstream market, prompting some consumers to seek out and acquire video content.

Sophie Lo, analyst for consumer digital markets said IDC expects 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, will drive the PMP market,” she said.