Portable Video Goes Mainstream, Sorta

(via Macworld) : While Apple continues to stress that it will not be introducing a video iPod, the market for portable video players is gathering steam, according to ABI Research.

“As price points fall, screens get bigger and form factors shrink, the market for portable video players is increasing,” according to the research. However, because of their higher cost, personal video player market growth is not as explosive as that for MP3 players was in its initial stages.

Can studios find inspiration in the success of online music retailing on the model of Apple’s groundbreaking 99 cent song downloads? Given satisfactory solutions to the intellectual property issues, the research author says. “Make it legal,” he says. “Motion picture industry players and regulators should jump in much sooner to realize the potential of this opportunity and start generating revenue. Maybe we need another Steve Jobs, to take the portable video player sales to the next level.”

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