Thursday, October 2, 2003
"The Death of the Handheld Computer" Says Rob Enderle
Posted by Jason Dunn in "ARTICLE" @ 02:37 PM
Ah, here's an article that should stir up some interesting discussion. Here's what Rob has to say:
"Whatever happened to the handheld computer market? A segment that seemed to have limitless potential just a few years ago now seems to be flirting with irrelevance. Right now, there are too many vendors in the space. Dell is driving the margins out of the segment; laptop computer prices are dropping to within a few hundred dollars of high-priced handhelds; and converged devices (cell phone/handheld computer) have generally proven to be a joke on those who bought them.
The choice seems clear: Either the market for these devices needs to expand, or some vendors will have to exit. Some (like Philips) have left, and Handspring was recently acquired by PalmOne. Three major mistakes stunted handheld computing's growth. The first is standards (or the lack thereof); the second, excessive focus on technology instead of user needs; and the third, a dearth of marketing focused on the segment itself, not the devices."
He goes on to talk about the worst issues causing problems in the adoption rate of handheld computers. What do you think? Is he right?
"Whatever happened to the handheld computer market? A segment that seemed to have limitless potential just a few years ago now seems to be flirting with irrelevance. Right now, there are too many vendors in the space. Dell is driving the margins out of the segment; laptop computer prices are dropping to within a few hundred dollars of high-priced handhelds; and converged devices (cell phone/handheld computer) have generally proven to be a joke on those who bought them.
The choice seems clear: Either the market for these devices needs to expand, or some vendors will have to exit. Some (like Philips) have left, and Handspring was recently acquired by PalmOne. Three major mistakes stunted handheld computing's growth. The first is standards (or the lack thereof); the second, excessive focus on technology instead of user needs; and the third, a dearth of marketing focused on the segment itself, not the devices."
He goes on to talk about the worst issues causing problems in the adoption rate of handheld computers. What do you think? Is he right?
