Market research firm Jupiter Research, a division of Jupitermedia, announced that it expects MP3 player shipments to continue to grow almost 50 percent per year for the next three years, with this year's shipments to top out around 3.5 million.
The company said that demand for hard drive-based MP3 players like the IPod will outstrip demand for lower capacity flash memory-based models beginning next year.
In the year 2006 Jupiter Research said that MP3 players will establish "a critical mass of users that will help spur digital music sales." The comments come as part of a new report entitled "Portable Music Device Forecast, 2002 - 2008."
Holiday Shopping
The report indicates that more than half--nearly 60 percent--of consumers looking to buy a music player will be shopping online this holiday season.
Jupiter Research VP and Research Director David Card said that MP3 players aren't "quite this season's DVD player, but portable music players, combined with online music stores and services, will be a strong holiday shopping combination."
Jupiter Research declared, "The combination of Apple's IPod device and its ITunes Store for music downloads has energized the music industry." The company notes that half a dozen new stores and services have launched to give Apple a run for its money, along with new hard drive-based MP3 player offerings from companies like Dell and Gateway.
The full report is available to Jupiter Research clients online. Others can contact the company for details.
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