Portable multimedia maker ReignCom (www.reigncom.com) introduced two new MP3 player models to market. The company has started marketing its N10 and color LCD model iFP-900 last month. The N10 model comes in three varieties, depending on storage size, 128MB, 256MB, and 512MB. The iFP-900 comes in three different models, 256MB, 512MB, and 1GB. ReignCom says the new models are distinguished from previous ones for their fashionable designs.
Meanwhile, the iFP-900s have the same square-shape design as the previous iFP-500s, the only difference a being bigger LCD screen. The model is shockproof thanks to a sturdy magnesium die-casting body. It supports many codec modes including MP3, WMA, ASF, and OGG. Equipped with Lithium-Ion batteries, the iFP-900 model can last as long as 40 hours with a three-and-a-half hour recharge.
Both products take advantage of Free-set Equalizer technology, which makes it possible to listen in different tones. They also come with a voice recording function. The company boasts that the products support 40 different languages, including English and Chinese. That makes the products ideal for students wishing to learn a language on the go.
Manufacturer's suggested retail prices for these items are as follows:
For the N10s, the prices are 198,000 won (128MB), 269,000 won (256MB), and 346,000 won (512MB). For the iFP-900s, they are 297,000 won (256MB), 389,000 won (512MB), and 449,000 won (1GB).
Interview
Users Can Look Good While They listen!
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Q. What is the biggest selling point for your new MP3 player models
They are not just devices to listen to music; they are fashion accessories. The N10 series make use of a high-quality necklace design with an appealing earphone. They are also extremely lightweight. They weigh only 22 grams including the batteries. It is noteworthy that these models come with a 16-gray OLED display, instead of a black-andwhite display.
Q. What is your marketing strategy for the new products Who do you target
First we'd like to sell them both online and in brick-and-mortar stores. The N10s double as fashion item as well as music replay device. I expect young people, especially young female buyers, will like the items.
Q. Do you have a sales target
We have so far booked 20,000 orders for the N10s. Of these, 10,000 have been delivered and the remaining 10,000 are still in backlog. At this pace, I expect 150,000 N10s will be sold by year-end. Our target for the total number of devices to be sold by year-end is 2 million.
Q.What are your future business plans
Bigger and bigger storage capacity is a major trend in the MP3 player market. For example, iRiver has introduced the world's first 512MB and 1GB flash memory MP3 players. This trend will go on for the time being, I believe.
Although flash-memory MP3 players lead the market, they will soon lose their position to hard disk MP3s and jukebox models. In that regard, iRiver has successfully debuted hard-disk type MP3s with capacities up to 40GB. It is the way to go.
In the second half, we plan to bring to market multimedia models that can play video clips as well as music files. Longer term, I believe the market will definitely shift to hard-disk based MP3 players with capacities of 20GB and 40GB.