News Archive for 06/07/13

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Women spark digital player, music growth

07/13, 9:25pm

Women spark digital music

A new research study shows that the digital music market has experienced remarkable growth in the past year with women aged 15-49 emerging as the hottest growth demographic and the iPod maintaining a 10-to-1 margin over its nearest competitor. The survey, conducted by Digital Life America in the U.S. and Fast ForwardTM in Canada, found that 28 percent of Americans aged 12 and older--an estimated 67 million--now own a digital music player, more than double the 12 percent figure in 2005. Remarkably, it appears that strongest growth demographic is women. According to the data, ownership of digital music players tripled among women from a mere 8 percent in 2005 to 27 percent in 2006. The survey also found signficant growth among men with over 28 percent owning a digital music player--up from 18 percent in 2005.

iPod delay rumors harm flash pricing

07/13, 6:15pm

iPod rumors harm flash

Industry observers say the rumored delay of Apple's next-generation iPod nano corresponds to an average 10 percent sequential drop for mainstream density NAND flash chips, while Hynix Semiconductor along with Samsung Electronics are said to be provoking a price war. Mainstream NAND continues to drop following an initial upside in May, and the price drop has ballooned to as much as 14.4 percent for the 1Gbit part as of July 6th, according to DigiTimes. SanDisk is rumored to have proposed a price reduction for its finished products, and industry sources say that Samsung is quoting its single-level cell (SLC) NAND flash at a level near to that of multi-level cell (MLC) offerings, in an effort to avoid losing customers while attracting more orders, according to the report.

Consumers favor phones over iPods

07/13, 9:35am

Phones favored over iPods

More consumers are avoiding iPods in favor of all-in-one phone devices. One user interviewed by BusinessWeek Online who previously carried both a phone and an iPod now favors a phone that holds 100 songs, treating her iPod as an extra accessory. "It made sense to just use my phone for both," said Rachel Slack. The trend should be worrying Apple, according to the report, because new $500 phones are now reaching the capacity of a top-end iPod nano at four gigabytes. Some analysts believe that this new type of phone with more memory is creating a new threat to Apple's iPod, as well as its iTunes Music Store.

TuneRemote case for Apple Remote

07/13, 9:05am

AppleRemote case announced

Tunewear today announced TuneRemote, a new case for the Apple Remote. The Apple Remote is featured with the MacBook Pro, Intel iMac, Mac mini, the iPod Universal (IR) Dock, and iPod Hi-Fi sound system. The case is created with red and white nappa leather, which the company claims is suitable for both business and social settings. For maintained control, access holes on the front of the case give the user full access to the buttons of the device. The case also features a detachable hook system to allow easy securing to a backpack, belt or other clipable hoop or strap. The case can be ordered for $20 and will ship this August.