iPod ate my iMarketShare

APPLE'S MARKET share of the MP3 market in the US of A was put at 68% yesterday, in a stunning, if not unexpected, coup over its rivals in the portable player market.

The research was carried out by the NPD Group, who claimed that Rio, the original MP3 player brand, now held just six per cent of the market.

The figures make for remarkable reading, suggesting that seven out of every 10 MP3 players are iPods. Whilst hard drive based players such as the iPod are significantly more expensive than rival flash-memory based devices, the appeal and cachet of iPod owning appear to be incredibly strong pulls for buyers, and those looking to save money have been buoyed by the release of the cut-price-full-style iPod Mini. Looking at the purely hard drive player market, iPod's share is 82%, reflecting its utter dominance of that sector. The closest competitor there is Creative, with its 'Zen' branded iPod-a-likes.

Apple is rumoured to be lining up a video iPod and cheaper, flash-memory based iPod for the holiday season.