Posted on 05/23/2006 7:19:50 PM PDT by Swordmaker
"The IT industry is well aware that the short product life cycle and the rapid pace at which new technology comes up can drive them out of the market in the twinkling of an eye. MP3 player manufacturer Reigncom, which became famous with its iRiver hit product, just two years ago earned almost W1 trillion (US $1 billion) in annual sales but recorded its worst-ever performance this year, with only W37.9 billion (US $40 million) in sales and W18.8 billion (US $20 Million) net losses in the first quarter," The Chosun Ilbo reports. "Established in 1999, the firm had been making remarkable strides, becoming the runaway no. 1 in the domestic MP3 player market. The iRiver was more popular among teenagers than big competitors from Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics. It also gained the status of a top-notch player in overseas markets including the U.S., Japan and China in terms of sales volume. But Apples Flash-type MP3 players put an end to that."
"When Apples MP3 player sales quadrupled to some 32 million units in 2005 alone, Reigncom responded by slashing product prices three times. At the end of last year, however, just a year and a half since it started competing with Apple in the Flash MP3 player market, some 300 or about half of its staff quit the company. Its overseas operations ground to a halt as it pulled out of most markets except for the U.S. and one or two other countries," The Chosun Ilbo reports.
iRiver quits MP3 market PING!
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Interviewer: "What is best in life?"
Jobs: "To crush your competitors, see them driven out of the market, and to hear the lamentation of the people who bought into WMA."
Oh, and my guess is that Archos is next. Possibly followed by Sony's entire line of digital player offerings.
Free markets. Go figure.
The interface of the iPod, plus the seamless integration of iTunes and the iTunes Music Store. AAC is also a good, open format (Pioneer car decks, among others, now support AAC natively), and since the iPod pretty much owns the industry, it's the industry standard now.
Also, anyone who knowingly and voluntarily uses WMA is an *idiot*. The tech specs for that format are awful.
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