Latest iPod seen as a rival

Korean makers of MP3 players are eyeing Apple with wariness as the U.S. computer maker enters the flash-memory music player market. On Tuesday, Apple released the iPod Shuffle in the United States, which it plans to offer in Korea as well. The company said its iPod commands 65 percent of the global market for hard-drive digital music players, but only a third of the entire MP3 player market, which is dominated by flash-memory players. These gadgets are made up of semiconductor chips, which are small, but they don’t store as much data as hard disk drives. About the size of a pack of chewing gum, the cheapest iPod Shuffle stores about 512 megabytes of data and costs $99. Holding up to 120 songs, the Shuffle has no display screen or click wheel. A $149 version has a gigabyte of memory, which can hold about 240 songs. While Korean companies dismiss the functions of Apple’s flash-memory player as too primitive to be compared to their own products, the low price and high brand power have them worried. “We make high-end music players, but Apple’s new product is targeted for the low-end market so there isn’t immediate concern. Rather, low-priced MP3 players from China will probably be threatened,” said Kim Dong-hwan, an official at Reigncom, a major MP3 manufacturer in Korea that makes a 512-megabyte flash-memory player for $199. “People who want to know what song is playing need to have a screen, and those that want options to select songs can’t get those features with the shuffle,” he said. “But the price is very low and the iPod brand power is huge. This may just be the start of Apple’s expansion into the flash memory-type MP3 market,” Mr. Kim added. A Samsung Electronics official said the iPod Shuffle can’t be compared to Samsung’s products. “It is meaningless to compare the new iPod with our products since we have so many more functions,” said Samsung Electronics. “Also, accessories and batteries are all separate [with the iPod], so it’s not exactly cheap either.” Although Korean MP3 player manufacturers have dominated the flash-memory market, they have been looking to steal market share from Apple’s iPod. Many started making hard-drive music players in the second half of last year. Apple Korea was not available for a comment, since all personnel were at the Macworld trade show in San Francisco. by Wohn Dong-hee