According to a new report by Global Industry Analysts, sales of MP3 players, such as the iPod and the Sony Walkman, will hit 100 million units by 2012. The reasons for the high projections include the rising levels of disposable income and an increasing usage of the internet.

Other reasons for the high sales projections are the lower price of MP3 players, the reduced size of the players and the many new features that they include, making people want to upgrade their existing players in favour of newer, better ones that can hold more music.

According to Global Industry Analysts, the USA market for MP3 players is the biggest in the world and is expected to be 14.5 million units this year. Following the USA is Asia-Pacific and Europe. Between the three markets they form 75% of the MP3 player market in the world.

All three markets are growing strongly, with Global Industry Analysts predicting the MP3 player market to top the 100 million mark by 2012.

Of course, Apple are expected to have the lion’s share of that market.