iLounge

Sales of portable digital audio players are set to grow 57 percent in 2005 after more than doubling last year, a global survey by iSuppli found. The market research group said today that over the next five years, shipments of MP3 players will expand to 132 million units in 2009 from 36.8 million in 2004. Sales of hard drive-based digital audio players are expected increase to 56.2 million units in 2009, up from 9.8 million in 2004, and account for 43 percent of the total MP3 market.

iSuppli said that less is more when it comes to portable players. “The so-called ‘Swiss Army Knife’ approach has not succeeded in the MP3 market. Simple, elegant products that perform a few functions with easy-to-use interfaces have sold well in the marketplace, while the do-everything approach has failed.”