Worldwide shipments of video portable multimedia
players will reach 132 million units in 2011, according to
Parks Associates’ "Portable Multilmedia Players: Analysis and Forecasts" report. This represents a 30% annualized growth rate.

Parks Associates predicted
that flash-based video PMPs would account for 77% of the North American
market in 2011, up from 15% in
2006. Most PMP makers are moving away from hard-drive-based players as
flash memory prices fall.

“The video PMP market will enter a strong growth period within the
next five years,” said Harry Wang, senior analyst at Parks, in a
statement.
“Video capability fuels the upgrade demand from existing device owners,
and more content—especially free and short online video clips—gives
consumers the incentive to upgrade.”

“Flash memory’s merits, such as durability, small form factor and low
power consumption, make it the preferred storage medium for video PMP
manufacturers,” Mr. Wang said. “Barring any
significant developments in the online video market, the use of
hard disk drives on the PMP platform will trail substantially."

Via eMarketer