Japan's Portable Media Market Poised For Growth

Factors like growing broadband penetration and the increasing availability of online music and video content will contribute to the growth of the portable media equipment market in Japan over the next several years, according to market research firm In-Stat. A new report predicts the market in Japan will reach nearly 1.5 million units by 2011, up from 760,000 units in 2007. A recent trend among Japanese consumers is looking away from audio-only MP3 players to video-enabled devices. The declining prices of these devices will likely prompt more Japanese consumers to purchase them. The only threat to the portable media player market is the music-enabled cell phone market, according to In-Stat. "While video-capable, dedicated PMP/MP3 players seem safe from multimedia cell phone competition, there is a significant opportunity for cellular operators to capture those consumers who are considering audio-only MP3 players," analyst Alice Zhang said in a statement. More than a quarter of the respondents to an In-Stat survey of Japanese consumers would like to use a multimedia cell phone as a substitute for a multimedia player. In-Stat detailed its findings in its report, "Portable Music & Multimedia Market In Japan," which is available for download from its Web site.