US-Based Portable MP3 Player Sales Cross 34 Million in 2006

The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) projected heavy growth this year for portable MP3 players, part of a larger surge in consumer electronics sales.

The portable music category contributed US-based revenues of $5.4 billion on a sales volume of thirty-four million devices in 2006, according the group. "One of the biggest drivers of both the audio and portable entertainment markets is the MP3 player,” commented Todd Thibodeaux, senior vice president of Industry Relations at CEA. “It continues to ship at large volumes and 2007 will be no different as the market shifts into a replacement mode." According to Thibodeaux, part of that replacement cycle is being driven by portable video technologies, which are now offered by a large percentage of player manufacturers. The group projected sales of 41 million players in the current year. The iPod grabbed a major chunk of the $5.4 billion pie, though a ballooning sector is motivating the competition. Microsoft is one contender, and executives Sunday appeared undeterred by early Zune sluggishness. Microsoft touted heavy Xbox 360 sales, and the company expressed confidence that it can duplicate that success in the portable music arena. Elsewhere, unlikely upstart SanDisk continues to score well. The storage company placed four different players in a recent Amazon portable music sales ranking, second only behind the iPod. Meanwhile, CEA estimates that overall consumer electronics sales will top $155 billion in 2007, a seven percent growth curve over 2006 figures.