MP3 players turn into multimedia devices
Korea's major MP3 player makers are rushing to adopt digital multimedia features for their top sellers as more users seek functions in addition to music.
MP3 players already have altered the music distribution business, since an hour of near CD-quality audio files can be downloaded onto a player's memory within five minutes from a personal computer's disk drive.
Now the makers of MP3 players plan to add a high-powered multimedia player to their product lines next year.
The basic concept is that the new product will be fitted with a large-capacity hard disk drive and Microsoft's Portable Media Center operating system, offering video, MP3 music, photos and other digital media content.
Samsung Electronics, a major home appliance and handset maker, said it would unveil its multimedia player at 2004 CES, at a trade show in Las Vegas early next year. The new model will adopt 20-gigabyte memory, Samsung officials said.
Top MP3 player maker iRiver Co. also said it would roll out a similar model in the domestic market in the first quarter of next year.
Samsung and iRiver already have launched HDD-type MP3 player models, posing a challenge to Apple's bipod, which has long monopolized the HDD-type MP3 player market.
Manufacturers are now focusing on the potential of mainstream HDD-type MP3 players as multimedia-oriented devices. They support a variety of file formats including OGG, a file type that is free from license disputes. And its large memory capacity, if combined with new digital services such as satellite digital broadcasting, is expected to reshape the way people enjoy music and entertainment.
Manufacturers said even mainstream MP3 players with a built-in flash memory are adopting more multimedia features to stay competitive.
Thanks to the fast-paced development of new products with sophisticated features, Digital way, another leading MP3 player maker, and iRiver are clamoring to secure enough production to meet export orders.
Manufacturers also are refining the design of their products as young MP3 player users are sensitive to chic, trend-setting designs.
Digitalwayis promoting lightweight MP3 players while other makers of MP players are using a design-oriented business strategy. Cowon Systems Inc. is promoting its mainstay MP3 player, iAUDIO, which features a design concept with a fashion-statement emphasis.
In 1999, Korean MP3 player manufacturers started with simple, no-frills models that had only 16 megabytes in memory. Technologies have upgraded dramatically since then, and an MP3 player with 1 gigabytes flash memory is now available.
Korea has led the global MP3 player market, an offshoot of other digital devices and the nation's booming high-speed Internet market.
By Yang Sung-jin
(insight@heraldm.com)
2003.12.17
