>...I would contend
> that MD has not
> exactly met with mainstream acceptance either and that it is
> not going to do
> so in the future. Both items are at present a small niche
> market in the
> larger audio equipment marketplace compared to the sales of
> CD players, DVD
> players, and even consumer CD recorders.
>
Maybe this is so in the U.S. Here in NZ I would say MD acceptance is
similar to the reported position in the UK - two years ago no-one had heard
of it, now more and more people have portables, many people (maybe still not
most) have heard of the concept.
Portables are still expensive but now the prices are achievable, while
blanks have dropped dramatically in price (they were commonly NZ$12-16 in
1998, now NZ$5-7 (approx US$2-3) - more than a 50% drop at retail, which is
helping acceptance.
Still, MD acceptance here is nothing like DVD acceptance, and MD is still
only found in dedicated HiFi shops, there's not much in the chain
electronics or home appliance stores, so yes it is a niche. OTOH, MP3
players are very rare - I know a lot of people who burn CDs and who hold a
lot of MP3s on their PCs but most people just aren't that in love with their
PCs and it can be tricky finding portable hardware to listen to the MP3s.
I agree that as time goes on, PCs integrated with other entertainment
technology will take over and MD won't survive. I'd give it another 10
years though.
Richard Lang
Solicitor
Duncan Cotterill
Christchurch, New Zealand
email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
tel: (++64)-3-379-2430 fax: (++64)-3-379-7097
http://www.duncancotterill.com
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