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MediaREADY to Include myPodder Podcast Software on New MP3 Players

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 10, 2007 - 1:40pm.

Las Vegas - MediaREADY, a maker of digital home entertainment devices, said on Wednesday that it has partnered with Podcast Ready, and will include the company's myPodder podcast management software on its MediaREADY Glider and MediaREADY Aero MP3 players. Introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show this week in Las Vegas, the new MediaREADY players are slated for release in March.

tags: Podcasts | CES | MP3 Players | MediaREADY | myPodder |

Report: 83% of Chinese MP3 Player Makers Expect Price Cuts in 2007

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 9, 2007 - 9:35am.

Hong Kong - The vast majority of Chinese MP3 player manufacturers plan to lower prices in 2007, as global demand is expected to increase by 20% over last year, according to market research firm Global Sources' China Sourcing Report.

tags: Reports | iPod | China | MP3 Players | Research | Global Sources |

SanDisk Introduces Sansa Line of Flash-Based MP3 Players

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 6, 2006 - 6:19am.
Las Vegas - SanDisk, a manufacturer of Flash memory products and consumer electronics devices, this week introduced its Sansa line of Flash memory-based MP3 players. The company's Sansa e200 line features three models with a 1.8-inch color screen and video playback capabilities, and includes players with 6GB ($299), 4GB ($249) and 2GB ($199) capacities. SanDisk also debuted a value-priced line of Sansa players, the 2GB ($169) Sansa c150 and 1GB ($119) Sansa c140. The Sansa e200 and c100 series are slated to ship in the U.S. and Europe in March.
tags: SanDisk | MP3 Players | Flash-Based |

Toshiba Introduces New Gigabeat Flash MP3 Players

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 14, 2005 - 7:18am.
Wayne, N.J. - Japanese consumer electronics firm Toshiba on Monday introduced a new line of its Gigabeat flash memory-based digital music players. A $129, 512MB model features a multi-colored pallet design, while a $179, 1GB model comes in metallic black. Both players will go on sale in January 2006.
tags: Toshiba | MP3 Players | Gigabeat |

Report: MP3 Players to Lead 9% Rise in Holiday Consumer Electronics Sales

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 18, 2005 - 11:22am.
Arlington, Va. - The consumer electronics industry expects to see a 9% increase in sales revenue during the upcoming holiday season, with MP3 players topping both the gift-giving and gift wish lists of the 1,000 adults surveyed by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) trade group. "Despite concern about the overall economy, consumers intend to purchase, as well as hope to receive, a plethora of consumer electronics gifts this holiday season," said CEA director of industry analysis Sean Wargo. "More, our survey indicates that retailers and consumers alike will be humming a happy tune entering the New Year, as results show the MP3 player is going to be one of the hottest sellers." Consumer interest in buying a portable MP3 player has increased from 20% in 2004 to 28% this year; revenues from sales of MP3 players are already up 105% so far this year.
tags: Reports | MP3 Players | Consumer Electronics Sales |

Memory Card Firm SanDisk Introduces Sansa Line of MP3 Players

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 4, 2005 - 3:04am.
Sunnyvale, Calif. - SanDisk, a maker of flash memory storage products used in consumer electronics -- including Apple's iPod Nano -- on Tuesday introduced its own line of portable MP3 players. The Sansa m200 series includes models in 512MB ($79), 1GB ($119), 2GB ($159) and 4GB ($199) capacities. The devices, which are compatible with Microsoft-supported portable subscription services from Napster, Yahoo and RealNetworks, are slated to ship in November. RealNetworks said it will offer an $80 rebate on the devices -- essentially giving users the $79 model for free -- when they sign up for a six-month subscription to Rhapsody.
tags: SanDisk | MP3 Players | Memory Card | Sansa Line |

Napster, XM Partner on Joint Service for MP3 Players

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 27, 2005 - 7:48am.
Los Angeles -- Napster announced on Wednesday that it has partnered with XM Satellite Radio, to integrate their services in conjunction with the release of new XM-capable MP3 players. The companies will market a co-branded "XM + Napster" service, beginning in the fourth quarter, which will enable users to mark songs heard on XM to their MP3 players for later purchase from Napster. "Today, XM subscribers can effortlessly discover and listen to any kind of music, and soon they will be able to effortlessly access, purchase, and manage their music with 'XM + Napster' and the new XM/MP3 players," said XM president and CEO Hugh Panero. XM currently claims 4.4 million subscribers to its satellite radio service.
tags: Napster | Deal | XM | MP3 Players | Joint Service |

Report: MP3 Player Market to Hit 104 Million Units in 2009

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 22, 2005 - 8:27am.
Scottsdale, Ariz. -- The MP3 player market is poised to grow from 27.8 million units shipped in 2004 to 104 million by 2009, driven by falling prices, more legitimate digital music services, smaller hard drives and increased flash memory storage capacity, according to a report from market research firm In-Stat. Combined revenue for hard drive- and flash memory-based MP3 players reached $4.5 billion in 2004, up nearly 200% from 2003. Meanwhile, U.S. households owning a digital music player have grown from 16% in 2001 to 25% in 2005. In-Stat noted that Apple currently holds 30% market share for combined sales of hard drive and flash memory MP3 players. It also predicts that flash memory players with 1GB or greater capacities will make up 20% of that market by the end of this year. "As competition heats up, vendors are striving to differentiate products by offering a wide range of price points, memory capacities, and features," said In-Stat analyst Stephanie Guza.
tags: Reports | Hit | MP3 Players |

U.S. Firms to Mount Legal Challenge of Canadian Tariff on MP3 Players

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 14, 2004 - 3:32am.
San Francisco -- A group of U.S. MP3 player manufacturers and retailers intends to mount a legal challenge to the recent addition of a tariff on such products by the Copyright Board of Canada, CNET News.com reported. The tariff added an extra fee of to the cost of each player based on its capacity; the fee will be divided among musicians, songwriters and record labels as a means of compensating them for copyright infringement. MP3 player makers Apple, Dell and H-P, along with retailers Wal-Mart and Best Buy will argue the matter during an appeal of the Copyright Board's decision to be heard by a Canadian federal court.
tags: U.S | MP3 Players | Mount | Challenge | Canadian Tariff |

Canada Declares P2P Downloading Legal, Levies Tariff on MP3 Players

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 12, 2003 - 5:19am.
Ottawa, Canada -- In a surprise move, the Canadian Copyright Board has ruled that under current Canadian copyright law, downloading music over peer-to-peer file-sharing services like Kazaa is legal. The board said that downloading was legal if the acquired file was used as a "personal copy;" uploading files to such services, however, was not declared to be legal. Additionally, the board voted to freeze the tariffs that Canadians pay on recordable media like blank CDs -- fees that go into a fund that compensates artists and copyright holders -- at their current rates until the end of 2004. The decision ignored recording industry requests for an increase on the tariffs, as well as its desire to add recordable DVDs and computer hard drives to the list of taxed devices. However, consumers will now pay $2 per GB on hard drive-based MP3 players, with a maximum tariff of $25 for MP3 players with capacities over 10GB. The Copyright Board did not rule out a future tariff on computer hard drives, but decided in the mean time to rule in favor of the consumer.
tags: Downloads | P2P | Canada | legal | MP3 Players | Levies Tariff |

Report: 3.5 Million MP3 Players Will Be Shipped in 2003

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 9, 2003 - 6:15am.
New York -- The number of MP3 digital music players shipped to retailers is expected to almost double in 2003 to over 3.5 million, and will continue to grow almost 50% per year for the next three years, according to a report from New York-based research firm Jupitermedia. The firm also predicts that demand for MP3 players with hard drives will outstrip demand for those with flash memory starting in 2004, and that by 2006, the installed base of MP3 players will top 26 million, establishing a critical mass of users that will help spur digital music sales. Jupitermedia credited the successful launch of Apple's iTunes Store and accompanying iPod player, new entries from HP and Dell for the MP3 player market, and the new crop of download stores from Napster, Musicmatch and others, for the device category's rise in popularity. "They're not quite this season's DVD player, but portable music players, combined with online music stores and services, will be a strong holiday shopping combination," said Jupiter Research vice president and research director David Card.
tags: Reports | Releases | MP3 Players |