Back to the Future: Portable Player

America US

ABI Research: In 2004, ABI Research published a report suggesting that what today's portable digital audio and video players needed was to become truly portable, in the way that old portable cassette and CD players were. Today's so-called portables are still tied by an umbilical cord to the computer and a broadband connection. The industry should address these shortcomings. Today the signs are that the industry agreed, and true portability is beginning to arrive. That Wi-Fi networking capabilities are starting to appear in portable audio players. Although such models are still few in number, they will become a flood in 200. Thomson is even introducing a product line that will interface the player directly with a home hi-fi system, without the need for an intermediary PC and broadband connection. On the video side, EchoStar has just invested $10 million in player vendor Archos, which is said to be introducing a specially-tailored media player that will load movies directly from EchoStar's DISH Network feeds. Video, however, is a more difficult proposition for true portability, because of long transfer times. Media players are where the portable music market was five years ago, But the portable industry is growing explosively, he adds, both for equipment vendors and for content providers. Yahoo's entry into the downloadable music market is a solid confirmation of that fact. One important development from such content providers is the bundling of free and extra downloads for annual subscribers. Apple, with its single 99 cent purchase model, will have to watch out. Portable Audio, Video and Game Market Evolution Publ 20050512