If the portable MP3 player industry hopes to persevere, the financial burdens of owning an MP3 player must be addressed. True, there are players that weigh in at under $30, but they are slim on features and emaciated on storage capacity. Let's examine the current situation. There are two principal cost hindrances to owning a portable MP3 player. First, the players themselves tend to be on the pricier side of $200 (especially when you consider that a portable CD players costs about $50). And second, the Flash and SmartMedia cards that store your music will cost you close to $2 per MB: A standard 64MB storage card is currently $120 on Amazon.com.
These high price tags should prove most worrisome to the consumer. Mired in both a legal onslaught and subdued by public skepticism, the world of digital music is shaky at best. Just as the digital music industry cowers in the shadow of the RIAA, the portable player industry writhes at the whims of memory card manufacturers. However, the outcome of the Napster vs. RIAA trial will have no effect on the cost of MP3 players. The courtroom drama will not bring the cost of flash cards down. No, the change must happen through some other means.
Even as we speak, there are numerous companies who have set out to address this bottom-heavy memory-to-money ratio. The task is surely an uphill battle as SanDisk and Viking (two popular flash memory card manufacturers) have a close hold on storage for most mainstream players. Two companies in particular though are planning to overhaul the industry with their storage innovations.
DataPlay
Hailing from Boulder, Colorado, DataPlay was founded in 1998 with the intent of reshaping the digital entertainment industry. The company hopes to establish a new standard for digital entertainment storage across all media, from music to e-books to games. To serve this purpose, DataPlay makes DataPlay discs (tiny optical media discs), which are designed to be permanently recorded with whatever information you choose. The astounding feature of these quarter-sized discs is that they hold 500MB of MP3s, a significant jump from the popular 64MB flash card format. The kicker though is that DataPlay discs will retail for between $5 and $10, a fraction of what current memory cards cost. Unfortunately, they are not rerecordable like flash cards. But with a huge capacity and low cost, they present an intriguing alternative to lengthy USB uploads. Just think, for $120 you could have 12GB (200 hours/CDs) of digital audio in your pocket!
Iomega
Famous for its Zip and Jaz drives, Iomega now blesses the digital music industry with the HipZip digital audio player. The player itself looks like most others on the market, although it boasts a more dramatic curvature along the edges. The most exciting feature is the round two-inch PocketZip disc that holds 40MB of digital music. Each PocketZip retails for only $10 and is completely rewritable! Check out our review of the HipZip player for full product specifications. Further, the PocketZip discs can store spreadsheets, images, and digital-media presentations just as a Zip or Jaz disc might. But would you have expected anything less from the digital storage king?
Is the CompactFlash market destined to collapse? Suffice to say, as new companies introduce inexpensive alternatives to current technologies, we'll see dramatic shifts in the memory market. Keep your eyes trained for new products from these two companies, as their most recent advancements should drive down costs considerably and increase storage capacity in MP3 players and beyond. The day that you can transport your entire digital music collection in one pocket is upon us (and not only for those in saggy-bag rave trousers!) Until next week, keep your belt at your waist and your checking account in the black, and listen for the lowdown.