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Shuffle growing in flash market

Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO, announced that the iPod Shuffle had taken a total of 58% of the market share for flash based digital music players.

This is a 15% increase since February when Oppenheimer revealed Apple’s second-quarter results.

For the full story:
Macworld UK - iPod shuffle nabs 58% of flash market

ITunes phone will happen

Motorola confirmed that it will be launching a new mobile phone that will play music purchased from iTunes in the next few months.

The delay in the release of the phone was originally thought to be because of a lack of interest from telecom carriers. However it seems as though the carrier are looking to music as a driver for future growth in the mobile services.

For the full story:
Macworld UK - Motorola reaffirms iTunes phone promise

iTunes friendly Sony system

Sony has released a network audio system that works with AAC, the file format most commonly found with iTunes.

The home stereo-based digital music player will be shipping in July and is called the NAS-CZ1. The device allows users to stream music wirelessly from their PC to wherever in the house the unit is placed.

The NAS-CZ1 is compatible with most audio files including MP3, WAV, WMA and AAC. The digital music player is also able to generate smart play lists that will sort according to most frequently, recently, new or never played songs.

For the full story:
Macworld UK - Sony's network music device will play iTunes

HP iPod Update

HP is planning to update is line of branded iPods in the near future which will be the first time since they started distributing them last August.

HP currently has just two of the models of the iPod lineup, the 20GB and the 40GB. Because of this, the company has been criticized for not keeping up with Apple and HP’s market share is expected to decline over the next few quarters unless HP gets with game.

HP’s VP of consumer brand and marketing however stated that HP is “really pleased with the market share percentages" and that "there was incredible demand for the iPods during the holiday season."

HP sold approximately 321,000 iPods in the fourth quarter however Apple sold 4.58 million.

For the full story:
Macworld UK - HP to update iPod line

Samsung joins the battle

Just as Virgin Electronics is leaving the digital music market Samsung steps in with a desire to dethrone Apple and take the majority market share in the digital music player market.

Yesterday Samsung announced that it will be releasing six new music players in this half of 2005. They believe that this is the first step towards becoming the number one MP3 maker by 2007.

The company is also aiming to develop multifunction music players that would include components to look at photos, watch movies and music videos as well as possible gaming features as well.

For the full story:
Macworld UK - Samsung seeks iPod killer

Flash Player w/ VOIP

Yes it is true, there is now a digital music player that doubles as a Voice over IP head set that will allow you to make calls while you are plugged into your computer.

South Koran firm, Ezmax, will start shipping this flash based digital music player in May. The EZMP4200P was announced at the Hanover Cebit confrence.

The MP3 player plugs into a computer using USB 2.0 however needs a VOIP provider for you to actually make any calls.

Ezmax is currently talking to providers in South Korea, Germany and other European countries to allow a set up VOIP providers.

The digital music player measures 70mm long, 24mm in diameter and weights 24 grams without the AAA batteries that it uses for a power source. The player will work with a number of formats including MP3, WMA, ASF and Ogg. It also allows for voice recording and FM radio reception. The player has a two color OLED screen and will come in three different sizes: 256 MB, 512 MB, 1 GB. The player will start at about $150.

For the full story:
Macworld UK - Cebit: Flash music player with VOIP unveiled

Virgin pulls out

Virgin has given up on trying to compete with the iPod and iTunes market.

Sir Richard Branson has decided to withdraw its products from the market place and close up the Virgin Electronics subsidiary.

Starting last October Virgin was selling a $100 circular MP3-player with storage of 128MB as well as a 5GB digital music player. The devices used WMA DRM and were bundled with branded digital music software. The software sold songs for 99 cents and had a monthly subscription package for $7.99. All the Virgin Electronics products will be withdrawn but Virgin will honor all the warranties.

Virgin originally thought that because of its brand name it could an instant competitor in the market.

For the full story:
Macworld UK - Virgin succumbs to Apple's domination

Flash Network Walkman

Sony has announced that it is expanding its line of Network Walkmans. The line used to only include hard drive based digital music players, however, now three new players based off of flash memory chips that be will be included.

The new players are circular in shape and measure 6 cm in diameter and 2 cm thick. They all include a LCD screen and weigh about 37 grams. The players are powered off of three AAA batteries and in ‘power save’ mode the battery can reach up to 70 hours

The 256MB NW-E103, the 512MB NW-E105 and the 1GB NW-E107, as the new players are known as, make a debut in Japan after March 21 and to the world by the end of March.

The new digital flash music players will support MP3 music file format as well as Sony’s proprietary ATRAC and ATRACPlus format. Sony says though that music encoded in the ATRACPlus format allows about 47 hours to be stored on a 1G drive but when in MP3 the same drive will only store about 17 hours and 40 minutes.

For the full story:
Macworld UK - Sony unveils affordable new Network Walkman range

Longer iPod battery life

With the recent release of a new processor by PortalPlayer will result in a number of possible improvements for the iPod including a much better battery life, maybe even three times better.

The PP5022 System-on-chip processor is the next generation of the processor that is used in today’s iPods. The goal with the new chip was to balance lowest operation power while working to continue increasing system performance.

An additional feature offered by the new PP5022 is the integrated USB 2.0 support. With the higher level of support now offered by the chip a new iPod could be compatible with peripherals such as digital cameras instead of just media readers like it has in the past.

PortalPlayer also introduced a processor for the flash-based digital music market, the PP5024. This new chip is designed for high-capacity flash memory-based personal media players.

With these new developments for the chips powering the iPod it is a good possibility that Apple will release updated models in the future that include these features.

For the full story:
Macworld UK - Apple iPod battery-life will triple

iTunes Phone

The new iTunes compatible E1060 mobile phone form Motorola is now being debuted at 3GSM, the world’s largest mobile trade show.

A fully functional java based version of the popular iTunes digital music software from Apple is included with the phone. This software allows users to sync with their PC’s iTunes library and then have a limited number of songs with them on their cell phone.

Although Motorola and Apple have worked together for a long time, the introduction of iTunes to Motorola’s cell phones is not an exclusive deal. Motorola VP Amer Husaini mentioned, “We're committed to have iTunes as the default music client, but we'll also continue to support other music players such as RealPlayer.”

Both Microsoft and Sony have also previously confirmed plans to integrate their digital music services into mobile phones as well. Sony Ericsson will leverage the Walkman brand and the music catalogue of its sister company Sony BMG. Nokia, on the other hand, is working with Microsoft for integrating a digital music player onto the mobile phone.

For the full story:
Macworld UK - Motorola's iTunes phone debuts, Microsoft, Sony join in

No iPod digital radio

The rumor of Sirius working with Apple to create an iPod with the ability to listen to digital satellite radio has been confirmed as a no go.

Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO, believes that iPod users are content with the ability to download thousands of songs. Jobs also stated that might change in the futures, especially if satellite radio has more interesting content to offer.

Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin then later stated, "Whether you put satellite radio in a cell phone, video game or MP3 player this could be an enhancement." Karmizain then backed up his statement by making reference to what Sony did with adding radio to its walkman cassette player.

Satellite radio is predicted to grow to approximately 35 million users by 2010.

For the full story:
Macworld UK - No immediate plans for digital radio on iPod

Kenwood to compete

Kenwood Corp. announced last Friday that it would compete in the portable digital music market with two hand-held players.

In the company’s first step into the digital music market the company is releasing a 512 MB flash based player capable of holding 240 songs as well as another that is half the size.

The players are compatible with the MP3 and WMA compression formats and use special software to transfer songs from a personal computer.

For the full story:
Express Newsline - KENWOOD TO GET INTO HAND-HELD DIGITAL MUSIC PLAYERS

iPod shuffle in retail

The new iPod shuffle will be available in 50- 7-Eleven outlets in Singapore starting tomorrow.

The Apple distributor in Singapore had this to say. "7-Eleven has the widest reaches of storefronts in Singapore. This gives anyone who wants an iPod a very easy retail location."

For the full story:
Macworld UK - Bread, eggs and iPod shuffle at 7-Eleven

Made for iPod

The new program by Apple, that would authorizes iPod products with a “Made for iPod” sticker or badge is seeing some controversy.

Some believe that it is a way for Apple to collect royalties on its iPod success. "A lot of our smaller manufacturers are concerned about this scheme. We think it will hurt their business. Apple's trying to muscle into the accessories market," stated an iPod accessory retailer.

Apple however is saying the reason for this new program is to "Formalize how accessory makers work with Apple - while also preventing consumers from getting stuck with knock-off products that don't perform as advertised"

The details are still sketchy on the program but it will most likely not include accessories like iPod cases, just electronics that interface with the iPod.

Belkin, a producer of multiple iPod products, is however, not worried about the new program.

For the full story:
Macworld UK - Made for iPod scheme worries manufacturers

iPod components

Electronic Design Magazine has taken it into their own hands to find out what is inside the best selling digital music player, piece-by-piece, chip-by-chip.

Their detailed analyses shows that the iPod is chock full of different companies parts including PortalPlayer, Samsung, Texas Instruments, Wolfson Microelectronics, and Linear Technology. In the third generation there were even power savings chips used from Royal Phillips Electronics. The iPod Mini also included a chip from PortalPlayer as well as components from Hitachi Microdrive, Linear Technology, Texas Instruments and National Semiconductor.

The tear-down also valued the components at about 50% of the price of the individual iPods.

For the full story:
Electronic Design - Inside iPod

iPod Shuffle Jewelry

A piece of jewelry has been created for the iPod shuffle that incorporates freshwater pearls and wire.

The product of Elizabeth Hitchcock, this jewelry sits on top and lies down the side of the iPod shuffle. It is to be worn around the neck as a necklace.

Hitchcock also created a website that is featuring the fashion creation and can be found at http://www.ipodjewelry.com

For the full story:
Gizmodo - iPod shuffle Jewelry

MP3 players still have room

Even though it seems that everyone has some sort of digital music player, iPod or other, the market is still wide open with plenty of room to grow.

Household penetration of MP3 players (not just iPods) in the US is about 15% making it one of the least popular consumer electronics devices but still ahead of digital TV sets, Pagers and home fax machines. This also puts iPods behind such consumer electronics as LCD TVs and satellite TV systems.

A good comparison is between MP3 digital music players and DVD players. In January of 2001 DVD players had a 15% market penetration but as of this year they are in about 75% of US households.

According to the Consumer Electronics Association that some 7 million MP3 digital music players were sold in the US in 2004. CEA also speculates that another 10 million will be sold this year in the US. For another comparison, look at other portable audio devices, such as portable CD and tape players. These lower tech devices sold double the number and will do again this year even though their peak was in 2001.

For the full story:
Forbes - When IPod Sales Run Out Of Steam

iPod Shuffle off the shelf

In the fist four hours on the first day that the San Francisco Apple store started selling the recently released iPod shuffle it was out of stock. 2,000 sold with one person supposedly buying 24 at once. The new digital music player could be just the ticket for keeping Apple at the top of the game.

For the full story:
Macworld UK - iPod shuffle sales explode

iRiver surprised

Understandably, the CEOs of digital music player manufacturer iRiver is surprised by Apple’s recent release of the iPod Shuffle.

iRiver CEO Yang Duk-Jun is most surprised by the fact that Apple is targeting the low-end area; something that has not been part of Apple’s strategic plans in the past.

Duk-Jun is not surprised however at the price, Chinese products are already available at that price and consequently it is likely to be the Chinese manufactures that are hit hardest as they currently dominate the low-end market.

Duk-Jak is also surprised at the difficultly it will be for users to find their favorite songs.

For the full story:
Macworld UK - iRiver CEO 'surprised' at Apple's iPod Shuffle

Creative not happy with Shuffle

Creative’s CEO Sim Wong Hoo announced, “I’m delighted Apple joined the flash party but, I’m surprised it’s taken Jobs so long. You have to hand it to him, entering the market with a statement about pioneering the ‘shuffle’ function is certainly a bold move that will grab headlines.”

Creative has previously announced full on war against Apple for market position with digital music players and with another competing product from Apple it is no surprise that Creative is upping the ante.

Creative thought it had learned a lot and is curious why Apple hasn’t learned from their mistakes. The lack of a screen is the main lesson concerning Creative.

Some analysts believe that Creative will dismiss Apple’s new product and that will be their own peril.

For the full story:
Macworld UK -MWSF: Creative kicks out at iPod shuffle

iPod Shuffle

Apple has, as expected, brought in a new member to the iPod family, the flash based iPod Shuffle.

The iPod Shuffle does not include a screen and Apple is believed to have skipped that feature because they wanted to highlight the beauty of the unpredictable shuffle. Of course the digital music player will play songs in a predefined order as well but Apple is branding the iPod Shuffle as the “official soundtrack to the random revolution” and is “a unique journey through your music collection – you never know what’s around the next tune.”

This small digital music player weighs less then an ounce and comes with either 512 MB or 1 G of storage and starts at $99. The digital music player will keep you guessing on your next song for 12 continuous hours with 240 songs. Since the device is totally flash based it does not skip. The digital music player connects via USB to your computer and uses iTunes to manage the music. You can drag and drop individual songs, autofill the player with your favorite play list or autofill your iPod shuffle with a random set of tracks from you music library. The player also charges while you are syncing with your computer. The digital music player starts shipping in one week and already has a number of accessories just like its other siblings.

Overall it seems to be a great digital music player to compete with the flash based market. Apple’s classic move of making things easy to use seems to have been exhibited here as well.

For the full story:
Apple - iPod shuffle