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20th August 2004 - Following the current market
trends of offering and supporting digital content,
while facilitating portability, the handheld audio/video
player market is poised to grow consistently over
the next 5 years, according to In-Stat/MDR. The
high-tech market research firm projects that this
segment will experience 700% growth in 2004, and
an overall CAGR of 179% through 2008.
The first of these devices emerged in 2003 and
by the end of that year; consumers were already
somewhat familiar with them. In a late 2003 In-Stat/MDR
survey, nearly 30% of respondents indicated they
were familiar with these devices. Also known as
Personal Media Players (PMPs) or Personal Video
Players (PVPs), most of these handheld devices
include audio, video and imaging functionality.
Additionally, some also offer the ability to act
as a portable PVR, recording directly from the
TV to the device. PMPs support a variety of data
formats, although they offer varying levels of
native codec support.
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Recent devices have had high price tags and are most
useful to consumers who already have a lot of their
own content. One of the critical needs for success in
this product segment is the availability of content.
Today, consumers have some content of their own, but
many in the industry feel that the real value of these
products will emerge from widespread use of downloadable
video content.
This year these products will primarily attract PC
savvy, early-adopters; however, most companies are targeting
three types of users: the commuter, the traveler, and
people wanting to entertain their children. In-Stat
believes that overall, this is a viable market segment,
but it may take a while to develop to the scale that
many electronics manufacturers desire.
A recent In-Stat/MDR report also finds that:
- Most of today's devices are using a 1.8-inch or
2.5-inch, 20GB drive. Capacity will increase as access
to content increases and component prices decrease.
- The majority of today's products are either based
on Microsoft's Portable Media Center (PMC) platform
or on a Linux platform. In-Stat/MDR expects that PMC
devices will represent about 25% of shipments this
year.
- Most current or upcoming products will be priced
in the $400-$600 range. The ASP is not expected to
decrease very quickly over the forecasted period.
- Some PMP products are PC-centric, while others do
not require the use of the PC. This differentiation
may sway some users in their choice of devices.
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