Manufactuers of other flash based MP3 players are going out of business reports the NYT, following the recent launch of the new Apple Nano music player.

Around 200 MP3 player makers in Asia have felt the pinch after Apple scooped up forty percent of Samsung's flash memory chip output this year.

Apple is thought to be paying anything from $85 to $120 per four gigabyte chip that currently fits into the higher end, $250 Apple nano.

It's a nice profit margin for Steve Jobs and his pals.

But despite the business closures, this new competition is good news for the consumer as prices for flash memory (most people use these types of memory in the portable, USB-based flash memory units) continue to fall.

Four gigabyte USB clips have been selling for around $300 - but now that you can buy an all singing portable music and file storage Nano, manufactuers have had to drop their prices to compete.