Samsung launches new MP3 players to rival iPod

With the debut of its latest sleek MP3 players, Samsung Electronics Co has joined battle with Apple Computer Inc's hugely successful iPod series, following in the footsteps of SanDisk Corp which launched its Sansa e200 "nano killer" MP3s on the local market two weeks ago.

The South Korean consumer electronics maker yesterday launched the YP-Z5, its latest range of MP3 players which have a similar look and feel to the iPod nano series, but with, according to the manufacturer, "stronger features."

Offering 35 hours of playback time and an FM tuner, the YP-Z5 comes with a large 1.8-inch screen and is only 11.4mm thick compared to iPod nano's 14 hours of battery life, 1.5-inch screen and 6.9mm thickness, David Li (李正祜), a supervisor of Samsung's Taiwan branch, told reporters at the product launch.

The YP-Z5 models are in 1GB, 2GB and 4GB formats, and cost NT$4,990 (US$154), NT$5,990 and NT$7,490 respectively. The 2GB and 4GB models are around NT$1,000 cheaper than the equivalent iPod nano.

According to Samsung its new MP3 players will help the company double its market share to 10 percent by year's end, from the current 5.1 percent. This would translate to sale volumes of 100,000 units. The estimated total market size this year will be 1 million units, up from last year's 870,000 units, according to Li.

For the first five months of this year, Samsung was the No. 3 vendor in Taiwan's MP3 player market in terms of sale value, after Apple Computer's 29 percent share and Micro-Star International Co's (微星科技) 6.5 percent, Li said, citing statistics from GfK Marketing Services. This is a huge improvement for Samsung, as it was the No. 16 player during the same period last year, Li said.

The company is set to introduce three higher-end MP3 players over the coming months to complement its range of models, he said.

In addition to Samsung, SanDisk, the world's largest maker of flash storage cards for electronic devices, launched the Sansa e200 MP3 players here on June 23, with its 2GB model priced at NT$6,490, 4GB model at NT$8,490 and 6GB model at NT$10,690.

One of the notable features of SanDisk's e200 series is the scratch-proof liquid metal back casing, which is a direct challenge to the iPod nano, which are prone to scratches.

SanDisk, the second-largest MP3 player vendor after Apple Computer in the US market, aims to grab 20 to 30 percent of the local market share within the next 18 to 24 months, the company said at the launch of the e200 series.