MP3 players owned by one-third of households

Almost one-third of households will be using a portable music player this year, analysts have found.

According to JupiterResearch, 35 per cent of households will own a portable music player in 2005 and, by 2010, that figure will rise to nearly 70 per cent, creating what the research firm calls "critical mass" for the music player market.

The cool factor - music player as fashion statement - is serving to drive adoption of MP3 players, JupiterResearch said.

A separate report by research firm Canalys recently found Apple currently remains market leader in the music player world, with around 45 per cent of all MP3 players and more than 70 per cent of hard disk-based devices bearing the iPod name. Creative took second place with 16 per cent of devices, with Rio at just seven.

JupiterResearch, however, predicts no threat to Cupertino from hardware rivals just yet: "Apple shows no signs of losing momentum and should not lose significant market share in the next 12 months," it said.

Music-playing mobile phones are equally likely to remain sheep in wolves' clothing in the short term. "Wireless music services in the US... will have minimal effects within the five-year forecast horizon, due to licensing complexities, bandwidth requirements and pricing, consumer demand and technology infrastructure and compatibility."

However, the number of phones with music playback functionality will surpass that of pure music devices by 2010, the study found.

Small remains beautiful in consumers' eyes, it seems, with most MP3 player owners putting only 1,000 songs or less on their devices.