Flash card shipments for MP3 audio to hit 5.2 million in '99, says report
Semiconductor Business News
(11/10/99, 02:44:49 PM EDT)
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.--Worldwide demand for flash-based memory cards used in MP3 digital audio applications is expected to reach 5.2 million units in 1999 with MP3 player shipments totaling 1.3 million systems this year, said to market researcher In-Stat here today.
In a new study of MP3 flash demand, In-Stat predicts that memory card shipments will reach 21 million in 2002. During that year, MP3 player shipments will grow to about 8.5 million units worldwide, according to In-Stat.
"Flash memory card suppliers have been waiting for a volume consumer market to take off," said Jess Huffman, senior analyst at In-Stat, who authored the new MP3 report. "The MP3 'music-mania' is a global phenomenon that has pushed the industry capacity beyond it's current limits. In fact, the excitement of the Diamond Rio success in the U.S. has almost masked-over the even hotter audio-frenzy in the offshore markets," noted Huffman, referring to the portable MP3 digital player from Diamond Multimedia Systems Inc. in Santa Clara, Calif.
Huffman predicted that South Korean suppliers will export 300,000 MP3 players in 1999--far short of their 2 million unit goal because of shortages of flash memory, microcontrollers and other components. "Just about the time suppliers were setting their targets for MP3, demand for flash memory began exceeding supply in other applications," he said.
The first wave of Korean MP3 product shipments will go to Japan and then the Americas, said the In-Stat study. Japan will consume 60% of the Korean exports, predicted the market researcher.
In-Stat's MP3 report, "Flash Memory, Facing the Music," sells for $995. |
