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83 Percent of Greater China MP3 Player Manufacturers Set to Cut Prices in 2007 -- China Sourcing Report

Global Sources
2007-01-11 11:40 1966

HONG KONG, Jan. 9 /Xinhua-PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Eighty-three percent of Greater China MP3 suppliers say they plan to lower prices in 2007, according to Global Sources' (Nasdaq: GSOL) China Sourcing Report: MP3 Players ( http://www.chinasourcingreports.com ).

(Logo: http://www.prnasia.com/sa/200701111135-min.jpg )

Of the 54 MP3 Player manufacturers surveyed:

-- 53 percent expect to cut prices by 10 percent or less;

-- 19 percent foresee price decreases of 10 to 20 percent; and

-- 11 percent expect prices to fall 20 percent or more.

Mark Saunderson, publisher of the Global Sources report, said: "The price of flash memory has steadily decreased, with the trend expected to continue for several years. This has reduced the production costs of flash-based MP3 players, which account for 66 percent of players globally."

Global Demand for MP3 Players to Grow 20 percent year-on-year; Greater China to Boost Exports

The report shows that global demand for MP3 players is expected to increase by 20 percent year-on-year in 2007. Greater China manufacturers plan to boost 2007 exports to meet this demand.

Manufacturers project the following export growth for 2007:

-- 25 percent -- exports to increase by 50 to 75 percent;

-- 28 percent -- increases of 25 to 50 percent;

-- 28 percent -- increase by less than 25 percent; and

-- 13 percent -- no change in exports.

The report shows Greater China manufacturers are increasing their compliance with intellectual property rights in order to access US and European markets. Among the most popular licensors are Sisvel, Thomson and Microsoft.

The China Sourcing Report: MP3 Players also showed:

-- Greater China accounted for 52 percent of global MP3 Player

production in 2006;

-- Flash MP3 players with 8 gigabytes to 10 gigabytes of storage

capacity are being developed;

-- Hynix Semiconductor and Samsung are the major suppliers of flash

memory to most profiled manufacturers;

-- Hard drive-based players are available in 20 gigabytes up to 60

gigabytes versions; and

-- Manufacturers order hard drives from Hitachi, Toshiba, Fujitsu,

Seagate and Samsung.

In-Factory Interviews, Detailed Supplier Profiles and New MP3 Player Models

The 122-page China Sourcing Report: MP3 Players provides proprietary market information from in-person factory visits to 28 manufacturers and interviews with 26 more suppliers.

The MP3 Player report's surveys, price trends, supplier profiles and supply forecasts aim to help buyers make better-informed purchasing decisions.

China Sourcing Reports ( http://www.chinasourcingreports.com ) are part of Global Sources' sourcing and product information services. These include Global Sources trade magazines, Global Sources Online ( http://www.globalsources.com ), Global Sources Direct ( http://www.globalsourcesdirect.com ) and the China Sourcing Fairs ( http://www.chinasourcingfair.com ). For more information, visit http://www.corporate.globalsources.com .

China Sourcing Report: MP3 Players is available at http://www.chinasourcingreports.com/csr/Electronics/MP3-Players/p/CSRMPP/Main.htm .

Information about Greater China MP3 suppliers and products can be found at http://www.globalsources.com/manufacturers/MP3_players.html .

About Global Sources

Global Sources is a leading business-to-business (B2B) media company and a primary facilitator of two-way trade with Greater China. The core business is facilitating trade from Greater China to the world, using a wide range of English-language media. The other key business segment facilitates trade from the world to Greater China using Chinese-language media.

The company provides sourcing information to volume buyers and integrated marketing services to suppliers. It helps a community of over 544,000 active buyers source more profitably from complex, overseas supply markets. With the goal of providing the most effective ways possible to advertise, market and sell, Global Sources enables suppliers to sell to hard-to-reach buyers in 230 countries.

The company offers the most extensive range of media and export marketing services in the industries it serves. It delivers information on annually through 11 online marketplaces, ten monthly magazines, over 100 sourcing research reports and 14 trade shows, including six China Sourcing Fairs. Suppliers receive more than 8 million sales leads annually from buyers through Global Sources Online ( http://www.globalsources.com ) alone.

Global Sources has been facilitating global trade for 35 years. In mainland China it has over 1,500 team members in 44 locations, and a community of over 1 million registered online users and magazine readers for Chinese-language media.

Global Sources Press Contact in Asia:

Camellia So

Tel: +852-2555-5021

Email: cso@globalsources.com

Global Sources Investor Contact in Asia:

Eddie Heng

Tel: +65-6547-2850

Email: eheng@globalsources.com

Global Sources Press Contact in U.S.:

James W.W. Strachan

Tel: +1-602-978-7504

Email: strachan@globalsources.com

Global Sources Investor Contact in U.S.:

Moriah Shilton & Cathy Mattison

Lippert/Heilshorn & Associates, Inc.

Tel: +1-415-433-3777

Email: cmattison@lhai.com

Source: Global Sources
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