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Consumer Electronics |
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1Q08 MP3 Declines Sharply While PMP
Gains Slightly In China May 14, 2008 China's MP3 and Portable Media Player (PMP) shipments in 1Q08 were 1.66 million units, down 30.0% YoY; while revenues were 1.1 billion Yuan, down 31.13% YoY. Seasonality, with QoQ decline, would be expected during the Chinese New Year, with many IT malls closed during the holidays. However, overall demand has decreased, both from the consumer, and the practice of business gift-giving of such devices. Shipments and revenues all decline, with slight exception of PMP shipments. The steep decline of China's MP3 player market is caused, in large part, by the cannibalization of more feature-rich device segments such as mobile phones, GPS and PMP devices. PMP YoY shipments were up slightly. In 1Q08, MP3 player shipments were 1.37 million unites, down 34.17% YoY, and down 21.7% QoQ. PMP shipments, on the other hand, reached 282.6 thousand, up a slight 0.91% YoY, but down 0.94% QoQ.
Source: CCID Consulting, April 2008 While PMP shipments were up YoY, prices continued to fall for both MP3 and PMP.MP3 revenues were 677 million Yuan, down 33.71% YoY and down 21.37% QoQ. PMP revenues also declined 26.58% YoY and 11.99% QoQ, to 417 million Yuan.
Source: CCID Consulting, April 2008 More flash memory-based PMPs over hard drive. Flash memory is used by 99% of all MP3 players in China, so CCID Consulting focuses on the PMP category. PMP vendors are focusing more on flash memory at the expense of hard drives. In 1Q08, shipment share of flash memory-based PMP was 46.74%, up 26.55% YoY. Flash memory as the advantages of less energy use, prolonging battery life, compactness, and low failure rates. However, flash memory costs more, although scale economies are driving prices downward.
Source: CCID Consulting, April 2008 Flash memory as strong potential for PMP application. The 1 gigabyte (1GB) category was the mainstream. However, 2GB and 4GB capacities are more prevalent, with some vendors offering 8GB. As capacity increases, flash memory will be better able to support more resource intensive video content of PMPs. PMP growth point: DAB As PMP growth slows, vendors are looking for new functionality and selling points. Digital audio broadcasting (DAB), or digital radio, is one key area. DAB offers a natural evolution from “single point” audio and video plays to continuous ones, while still being able to offer entertainment to a diverse audience. PMP with DAB offers these benefits while being practical: longer battery use than mobile phones, while more mobile than notebook computers. Watch for PMP with DAB as a mainstream product in China. Vendors Aigo and iRiver have already launched PMP with DAB. As PMP with DAB become more popular, domestic Chinese vendors will enter the PMP market. For more information Please contact us for these and other China-related data, information and products. Unless otherwise specified, all information provided is sourced from CCID Consulting. |
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