Flash-based players: These are non-mechanical solid state devices that hold digital audio files on internal flash memory, removable flash memory cards or USB flash drive.Types ĭigital audio players are generally categorised by storage media: Portable DVD and BD players are still manufactured. Increasing sales of smartphones and tablet computers have led to a decline in sales of PMPs, leading to most devices being phased out, such as the iPod Touch on May 10, 2022, though certain flagship devices like the Sony Walkman are still in production. In 2008 video-enabled players would overtake audio-only players. In 2007, 210 million PMPs were sold worldwide, worth US$19.5 billion. In 2006, 20% of Americans owned a PMP, a figure strongly driven by the young more than half (54%) of American teens owned one, as did 30% of young adults aged 18 to 34. However the industry would eventually be defined by the popular Apple iPod. MP3-playing devices were mostly pioneered by South Korean startups, who by 2002 would control the majority of global sales. Some players also include radio tuners, voice recording and other features.ĭAPs appeared in the late 1990s following the creation of the MP3 codec in Germany.

Generally speaking, they are portable, employing internal or replaceable batteries, equipped with a 3.5 mm headphone jack which can be used for headphones or to connect to a boombox, shelf stereo system, or connect to car audio and home stereos wired or via a wireless connection such as Bluetooth. The PMP term was introduced later for devices that had additional capabilities such as video playback.

In contrast, analogue portable audio players play music from non-digital media that use analogue media, such as cassette tapes or vinyl records.ĭigital audio players (DAP) were often marketed as MP3 players even if they also supported other file formats and media types. The data is typically stored on a compact disc (CD), Digital Video Disc (DVD), Blu-ray Disc (BD), flash memory, microdrive, or hard drive most earlier PMPs used physical media, but modern players mostly use flash memory. A small DAP: the SanDisk Clip Jam (2010s)Ī portable media player ( PMP) (also including the related digital audio player ( DAP)) is a portable consumer electronics device capable of storing and playing digital media such as audio, images, and video files.

Itunes download for android smartphone