iPod drives portable media player market to reach 187.7 million units in 2006
|
Strong growth in the portable media player
market is expected in 2006, as the market is forecast to reach 187.7
million units, up from 134.5 million units in 2005, according to Gartner,
Inc.
The demand for portable media players, especially the Apple iPod, is a significant driver of sales of NAND flash memory. NAND flash-based players accounted for 80 percent of the market in 2005. Hard disk drive (HDD)-based portable music players made up the remaining 20 percent of the market. 55 Percent of iPod Shipments in First Quarter of 2006 Were NAND Flash-Based Players |
|
Gartner expects Apple to introduce a new,
high-end NAND flash-based iPod by the fourth quarter of 2006, and this
player will most likely have 10GB to 12GB of storage capacity. In September 2005, Apple introduced the 4GB iPod nano priced at $249 and the 1GB iPod shuffle in January 2005 at $149. At the time, these NAND flash-based players represented the most aggressive pricing found in the portable media player market. |
|
