Digital Home Thoughts: Why Aren't Portable Media Players More Popular?

"...while some companies have been making progress getting their devices smaller, size might not be the reason why portable media players have yet to ignite the market in the same way as Apple did with the IPod. "Many people don't have a source for MPEG4 files," says Eric Tsai, manager of the sales division at Hsinchu, Taiwan-based Vosonic Technology, referring to the video file type widely supported by the devices. And without a ready source of compatible video files, who needs a video player?"

There's a rule with any consumer electronics technology that has generally held true over time: it's all about the content. VHS won over Beta because there were more movies for it. If there's not enough content, a technology will fail, no matter how cool it is for it's time (Minidisc). This article talks about the lack of video content being a blocking point for consumers buying video devices. I tend to agree, which makes Microsoft the company to watch - they're already one generation in on connecting a PVR (MCE 2005) to a portable media device (PMC), and I'm sure (I hope?) they've learnt a lot from the first generation. My hunch is we'll see 2nd generation PMC devices coming out this holiday season, and it will be interesting to see if they listened to user feedback. If one model had a CompactFlash slot on it, I would have bought one instantly. MP3 players are a more or less evolved consumer electronics device, but portable media players have a long way to go.