Sima Products, an Oakmont gadget maker, was betting its latest invention was the accessory that every iPod owner always dreamed of.

The "Hitch" promised to make sharing music, videos and photos a cinch, eliminating the cumbersome computer as the middleman and clearing the way for iPods to communicate directly with one another. With the spin-off market for iPod accoutrements expected to top $1.5 billion this year, the one-of-a-kind Hitch seemed a surefire blockbuster.

But Sima learned that it can be hard to stand out amid the scores of companies trying to cash in on the lucrative iPod accessories market.

In the five years since it debuted to the admiration of all but its competitors, Apple Computer's iPod has managed to spawn what Apple chief Steve Jobs has tagged the "iPod economy" -- a cottage industry that goes from upscale buttery leather protective covers to tricked-out haute-design speakers to silicone sleeves and knitted socks for the iPod's safe keeping.

More than 300 firms, including gargantuan sports outfitter Nike, have hitched their wagon to the iPod, according to Jeremy Horwitz, editor-in-chief of iLounge.com, the online information depot for the iPod-addicted.

The Hitch joined the fray early this year after Sima, a veteran maker of electronics gear, hooked up with local chipmaker Adcus Inc. to produce the device. Despite its cool design, the Hitch came with a glitch -- its price tag, which at $150 is more than for some iPods.

Although its January sneak preview at the Consumer Electronics Show, a sort-of Broadway premiere for tech products, was met with positive buzz, its summer launch was followed by lukewarm reviews by influential tech blogs such as Engadget.com, Gizmodo.com and iLounge.com.

The Hitch is "handy but not a necessity," wrote one reviewer, a death knell for an expensive product whose success depends on gadget geeks believing they can't live without it.

The Hitch has USB ports that allow electronic devices -- including iPods, other MP3 players and digital cameras -- to share files such as music, pictures and video without having to first transfer them to a computer. With the Hitch, a person could pass along a song on an iPod or a photo on their digital camera without having to tie into a computer.

But it didn't wow reviewers.

The Hitch, "doesn't turn iPod copying into a two-or-three-click solution, and it wasn't very fast when we tested," said iLounge's Mr. Horwitz.

Last week, Sima lowered the Hitch's price to $99, but "price isn't the only factor," Mr. Horwitz said. "The company needs to market it properly." And marketing is indeed critical with more than 3,000 iPod-inspired peripherals vying for consumers' attention. It's an explosion of accessories that's bound to yield some casualties.

For every success story -- such as the Nike's $30 iPod sports training kit or Bose's $300 dock and speaker system -- there are the flops that are lucky to be auctioned off at a 70 percent discount on eBay.

Urban-chic clothing retailer Banana Republic had to slash nearly 70 percent off the price of its brightly colored Italian leather sleeves tailor-made for the discontinued iPod Mini. By the time the tiny cases hit the stores, Apple had moved on -- unveiling the slimmer, sexier Nano -- and turning the iPod Mini and its hangers-on into has-beens.

Aiming not to join the crowd of the iPod's failed and forgotten cast-offs, Sima executives say they're heeding the blogosphere's advice, trying out new marketing ploys and re-tooling their strategy to reduce the Hitch's manufacturing costs.

"We have a really good product, we just need to get the volume up 10 percent so we can cut the price by one-third," Sima Chief Executive Officer Ilana Diamond said. That could happen if sales pick up when the $99 Hitch appears on electronics retailer Best Buy's Web site next week.

Revving-up sales is a tricky task for smaller companies gunning to stand out in the crowd but armed with a small marketing budget. Sima is up against bigger, richer competitors -- including Griffin Technologies, Belkin Components and LogiTech -- which already have staked their claim in the iPod add-ons market and are well-known for churning-out huge volumes of iPod accessories.

"Small companies get the shaft when it comes to any sort of marketing," said Ross Petrocelli, Sima's vice president of marketing. He's leading Sima's grassroots effort to promote the Hitch, working the local underground music scene to stir up interest from bands looking for an alternative to Myspace.com for showcasing their sound.

But the Hitch needs another dip in price to make it more attractive to iPod owners, who spend on average about $35 for accessories, said Stephen Baker, vice president of industry analysis at research firm the NPD Group. He said speakers are the only item for which iPod owners seem willing to spend.

The way most companies make money in the iPod accessories market is by selling large volumes of cheaper add-ons.

And some accessories have gotten a boost from Apple itself, which last year launched a program to give iPod accessory makers its blessing -- a "Made for iPod" logo -- for an undisclosed price. That tightens the race for the likes of Sima, which hasn't sought Apple's approval.

Plus there is the threat of Microsoft's Zune, a soon-to-be-released digital media player vying for a chunk of Apple's 80 percent hold on the market by doing just what the Hitch claims to do -- share music, minus the computer.

And yes, manufacturers already are clamoring to create the perfect accessory for Zune.