Tuesday, October 29, 2002
More PDA Market Share Numbers - Pocket PC Eeks Above 30%
Posted by Ed Hansberry in "THE COMPETITION" @ 07:00 AM
http://news.com.com/2100-1040-963511.html?tag=fd_top
According to a new report by Dataquest, one that focuses on PDAs and ignores Nokia's phone (as it should be :roll:) Pocket PCs have edged above 30% worldwide marketshare. I have a chart below but there is not enough info on the "other" categories to show what makes up that 30%. I am sure Toshiba makes up the lion's share of the remaining Pocket PC market share with some of the smaller Asian brands rounding it out.
Sony has actually leapfrogged HP (the iPAQ) in the US market. Sony releases a new PDA every few months and has actually averaged one new device per month lately. 8O The iPAQ is getting old. Even though the 3900 is only a few months old, it is based on the 3800, now a year old, and that is an evolution of the 3600, now over two years old. I expect the market to be shaken up in the 4th quarter of 2002 and the 1st quarter of 2003 as the sub $300 Pocket PCs from HP (iPAQ 2200), Dell and ViewSonic hit the market. HP also has the 5000 series iPAQ to hit the top end with a variety of wireless and phone features integrated. Palm OS 5 devices are also rolling out and it remains to be seen if new devices like the $499 Tungsten T, which lacks MP3 capabilities and has an estimated 3.5hrs of on time battery life, can compete with $199-299 Pocket PCs which actually have more functionality. I know there will be a sales surge as the Tungsten T, Zire and Sony NX series hit the market, but will they gain new customers or just retain Palm loyalists? As Dataquest analysit Todd Kort puts it, "Much more competitive pricing from Pocket PC vendors, beginning in the fourth quarter of 2002, will undoubtedly stimulate growth in Pocket PC shipments and allow Palm less breathing room."
Yahoo also has an article on it here. There is lots of good news in this report. In addition to Pocket PCs breaking the 30% barrier, the overall PDA market seems to have bottomed out and actually showed a bit of growth this quarter. Thanks to Foo Fighter and Jonathan Blackwell for the links.
According to a new report by Dataquest, one that focuses on PDAs and ignores Nokia's phone (as it should be :roll:) Pocket PCs have edged above 30% worldwide marketshare. I have a chart below but there is not enough info on the "other" categories to show what makes up that 30%. I am sure Toshiba makes up the lion's share of the remaining Pocket PC market share with some of the smaller Asian brands rounding it out.
Sony has actually leapfrogged HP (the iPAQ) in the US market. Sony releases a new PDA every few months and has actually averaged one new device per month lately. 8O The iPAQ is getting old. Even though the 3900 is only a few months old, it is based on the 3800, now a year old, and that is an evolution of the 3600, now over two years old. I expect the market to be shaken up in the 4th quarter of 2002 and the 1st quarter of 2003 as the sub $300 Pocket PCs from HP (iPAQ 2200), Dell and ViewSonic hit the market. HP also has the 5000 series iPAQ to hit the top end with a variety of wireless and phone features integrated. Palm OS 5 devices are also rolling out and it remains to be seen if new devices like the $499 Tungsten T, which lacks MP3 capabilities and has an estimated 3.5hrs of on time battery life, can compete with $199-299 Pocket PCs which actually have more functionality. I know there will be a sales surge as the Tungsten T, Zire and Sony NX series hit the market, but will they gain new customers or just retain Palm loyalists? As Dataquest analysit Todd Kort puts it, "Much more competitive pricing from Pocket PC vendors, beginning in the fourth quarter of 2002, will undoubtedly stimulate growth in Pocket PC shipments and allow Palm less breathing room."
Yahoo also has an article on it here. There is lots of good news in this report. In addition to Pocket PCs breaking the 30% barrier, the overall PDA market seems to have bottomed out and actually showed a bit of growth this quarter. Thanks to Foo Fighter and Jonathan Blackwell for the links.
