Standalone players to hit a bum note by 2012, say analysts

MP3 players face an uncertain future as analysts predict music-enabled mobiles will outnumber standalone MP3 devices by five to one come 2012.

More than half of the one billion mobile handsets shipped globally are expected to have music-playing capabilities in 2007, analyst house Portio Research predicts.

MP3-enabled handset sales are expected to be highest in northern and western Europe with 95 per cent of mobiles predicted to be MP3-enabled by 2011 in the region, the research reveals.

Read more: silicon.com