Wireless e-mail applications drive worldwide PDA shipments: Gartner

16 Jun 2005 00:00 IST

New Update

Worldwide personal digital assistant (PDA) shipments totaled 3.4 million
units in the first quarter of 2005, a 25% increase from the same period last
year, according to Gartner, Inc. This was the strongest first quarter the
industry has experienced.

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The average selling price (ASP) of PDAs increased 15% in the first quarter of
2005 compared to the first quarter of 2004. The ASP was $406, which is the
highest since Gartner began ASP estimates in 2000. Gartner analysts attributed
the increased prices to the popularity of high-end wireless models.

"PDAs with integrated wireless local area network (LAN) or cellular
capabilities accounted for approximately 55% of all PDAs shipped in the first
quarter of 2005," said Todd Kort, Principal Analyst in Gartner's
Computing Platforms Worldwide Group. "This increase is primarily the result
of the growing popularity of wireless e-mail, with users favoring larger
displays and QWERTY keyboards that are operated with both hands."

Motion's BlackBerry shipments grew 75.6% in the first quarter, as the
company became the #1 ranked vendor in worldwide PDA shipments (see Table 1).
PalmOne PDA shipments declined 26.3%, and its market share fell to 18%, its
lowest marketshare since it entered the market in 1996. Nokia's re-entry into
the wireless PDA market with the 9300 and 9500 enabled it to move into the #4
position.

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Microsoft has become the #1 PDA operating system (OS), as it accounted for
46% of worldwide shipments (see Table 2). RIM assumed the second position, as
Palm OS slipped to the #3 ranking, due to Palm OS shipments declining 38.8%.
"We expect that PalmOne will be adding other operating systems and setting
more of its own direction, while PalmSource is redirecting itself toward Linux
and smartphones," Todd said.

Worldwide: Preliminary PDA Vendor Shipment Estimates, 1Q05 (Units)
Company	1Q05 Shipments	1Q05 Market Share (%)	1Q04 Shipments	1Q04 Market Share (%)	1Q05-1Q04 Growth (%)
RIM	711,000	20.8	405,000	14.8	75.6
PalmOne	614,750	18	834,591	30.5	-26.3
HP	601,352	17.6	575,853	21	4.4
Nokia	340,000	9.9	-	0	N/A
Dell	217,000	6.3	163,250	6	32.9
Others	935,010	27.3	757,378	27.7	23.5
Total	3,419,112	100	2,736,072	100	25
Notes: Totals do not include smartphones, such as the Treo 650 and BlackBerry 7100, but include wireless PDAs, such as the iPAQ 6315 and Nokia 9300. Columns may not add to totals shown because of rounding. N/A = Not applicable Source: Gartner Dataquest (April 2005)

The Western European PDA market grew 84.3% to 1.3 million units in the first
quarter of 2005, while PDA shipments in the also totaled 1.3 million units, a 5%
increase. PDA shipments in Asia/Pacific declined 2.7% percent with approximately
352,000 unit shipments. In Japan, PDA shipments declined 21.3% with nearly
80,000 units shipped in the first quarter.

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Worldwide: Preliminary PDA Vendor Shipment Estimates by Operating System, 1Q05
Company	1Q05 Shipments	1Q05 Market Share (%)	1Q04 Shipments	1Q04 Market Share (%)	1Q05-1Q04 Growth (%)
Windows CE	1,573,062	46	1,100,008	40.2	43
RIM	711,000	20.8	405,000	14.8	75.6
Palm OS	684,750	20	1,119,714	40.9	-38.8
Symbian	340,000	9.9	-	0	N/A
Linux	27,300	0.8	34,800	1.3	-21.6
Others	83,000	2.4	76,550	2.8	8.4
Total	3,419,112	100	2,736,072	100	25
Notes: Totals do not include smartphones, such as the Treo 650 and BlackBerry 7100, but include wireless PDAs, such as the iPAQ 6315 and Nokia 9300. Columns may not add to totals shown because of rounding. Source: Gartner Dataquest (April 2005)

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