Converging markets: What happens to the PMP?

PHOENIX, USA: The Portable Multimedia Player (PMP) is a relatively new market, first introduced in 1998 as the next generation Walkman. PMPs rose to popularity after Apple released the iPod and hooked it up to the iTunes store. It was a simple way to finally bring your entire music and/or video library with you on the go.

Back in 2007, Semico released a report forecasting PMPs would one day provide additional services other than video and music such as Mobile TV, GPS, WiFi, DVR, touch screens, gaming, etc - all of which has come to pass - only now, with all these additional features, what separates the PMP from a smart phone or tablet PC?

Turns out, very little. In fact, the iPod Touch can be hacked into a phone capable of making VoIP calls, and with very little tweaking, OEMs are releasing new internet tablets as well as PMPs. As our processers keep getting smaller, and our batteries longer lasting, the features of the mobile entertainment market are beginning to converge.

Some would like to look at tablet PCs as a fad, a product that, in a few years, we'll look back on wonder what we were thinking. The reality, though, is that we are changing the way we interact with technology. We're at a turning point in the entertainment industry, and our consumers are savvier than ever and they know what they want - and it's not a hundred different devices that all do different functions.

So what happens to PMPs when the vendor with the controlling market share decides to turn PMPs into iPhones or iPads? Semico's latest report answers that question.