A research firm called Parks Associate recently conducted a market study using consumers as a source of information to find out what consumers want in their PMPs. Unfortunately the study does not reveal anything that we don’t already know.

382 owners of PMP devices participated in the survey and the following are the primary factors that would encourage consumers to watch more PMP videos:

• 43-44% - appealing video content and optimized video viewing experience
• 33% - motivations drive by the cost of content
• 19% - personalization and connectivity issues
• 16% - ease of use.

The PMP market has yet to reach one-tenth of its potential and the data explains why video content and an excellent visual experience overpower the cost of content as the top two factors that motivates consumers’ use of the next generation of portable entertainment devices.

One particularly interesting note this study makes is that no major PMP vendors have reached the perfect score on these mega factors. Based on the results, Apple seems to fulfill the high-ranking needs of PMP users. Clearly their respondents haven’t heard of the more “obscure” PMPs in the market, like the Creative Zen or the Archos 605.

[via player bites]