I sense that mp3 as a format is going to be around for quite some time yet, measurable in decades.
192k or 256k mp3 is getting close to indistinguishable from "lossless" compression.
At least to my older ears.
I've been predicting the opposite. As the capacity of the players increase, I'm thinking people will opt for better quality over increased quantity.
I mean, mp3 will be around for decades, it just won't be the standard anymore.
But then, I could be wrong. Or you could. Probably you.