No surprise here that shipments of MP3 players are expected to rise by nearly a factor of four from 2004 to 2009. It's quite amazing how many portable MP3 players you see people going around with in public right now, and with things set to quadruple, maybe everyone and his grandmother will be buying one soon.
The MP3 player market mushroomed suddenly in 2004, as hundreds of compelling products arrived in response to the overwhelming success of Apple Computer's iPod. Shipments of MP3 players rose by a whopping 116 percent in 2004.
Total MP3 player shipments will expand to 132 million units in 2009, rising at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 29.1 percent from 36.8 million in 2004.
Hard drive based products should account for nearly half of all MP3 shipments by 2009. The market for semiconductors used in MP3 players is expected to expand also.