The Scandinavian countries are seen as indicative of what will happen in the US, when it comes to digital convergence. That is why it interesting to note that new research shows that sales of MP3 players, including iPods, is not growing in Sweden anymore, according to Scandinavian Research firm IT Research.
During the second quarter of 2006, some 219,725 MP3 players were sold, which means no growth in sales, as compared to the second quarter of 2005. The market for flash-players is still growing, up 10%, but the market for hard drive-based players, like regular iPods, is down significantly, with no growth overall for the category. Most interesting is that the market for music enabled cell phones exploded during the second quarter. A total of 398,010 cell phones with built-in music player were sold, which is significantly more than MP3 players sold during the same time. Last year, the music cell phone category did not even exist.
Unit Sales of MP3 Players in Sweden Q2-2006
| Q2 2006 | Flash | Hard Drive | Total |
| MP3 Players | 196,085 | 23,640 | 219,725 |
| Growth % | +10% | -43% | 0% |
| MP3 Cell Phones | 398,010 |
Source: IT Research, 2006.
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