According to an In-Stat report, shipments of players will jump from 140 million units last year to 286 million units by 2010, driven by falling prices, growth in online music stores, enhanced functionality and increasing flash memory capacities.

Beta News reports that, despite the falling prices, Apple still leads the pack. In-Stat says Apple continues to dominate the market for MP3 players and competitors continue to face significant challenges such as device and software integration, and the cool factor associated with Apple`s iPod line of products.