The fact that Apple is switching to less appointed
models (no display, extremely small size, longer battery life,...), less iPODish, less
tricked out, flash-based MP3 players is a sign that there is still an untapped market
at the lower end for MP3 players with high storage capacity.
Its going to be interesting to see how the iPod Shuffle ends up selling to non-iPod users. I sort of see the Shuffle as an expensive accessory to iPod's. If you dont have a large library of iTunes music, it would seem to me that the Sandisk player would fit the same needs....it is almost as small, and provides quite a few other features (a screen, FM tuner, recorder). Of course, I'm guessing a large percentage of the population that couldnt afford the regular iPod's might end up buying the Shuffle just for the name.
Overall though, I still see a market opportunity for flash players to compete directly with the low-end miniHD MP3 players. If Sandisk executes with the Sansa, it might be one possible option....or we might have to wait until later in the year when 2GB flash prices have fallen a little further.
Slacker |
