Thursday, January 8, 2004
Handhelds Never Truly Become Popular?
Posted by Ed Hansberry in "ARTICLE" @ 08:00 AM
http://www.infosyncworld.com/news/n/4454.html
"Jupiter Research predicts handheld penetration will only reach a meagre 7% of the overall U.S. population by 2008 - yet opportunities are present for PIM devices. As part of the report, Jupiter Research conducted an independent survey to assess U.S. consumer demand for PDA features and form factors, and another survey to determine their willingness to carry multiple devices. "Basic PDAs with excellent PIM functionality will continue to make up the majority of sales while higher end devices will remain in niche markets only," Gartenberg said. "But as phones with integrated and functional PDA capability come into the market, they can spur growth opportunities for vendors while eschewing other less desirable features such as game play or media integration," added Gartenberg.
I don't know about the 7% figure, but overall, I tend to agree that penetration will be low. At some point people are going to get what they want on a cell phone, which is simply the ability to look up their appointments and to-do list and possibly do a bit of email triage. I could never see my mom caring one whit about a Pocket PC or similar high end mobile device, but having her important items from Outlook with her in a cell phone would be appealing.
Now, as far as PDAs that focus on PIM continuing to grow? I see the exact opposite, for the reasons I just stated. Everyone I know has a cell phone but relatively few have a PDA, and those that want these basic PIM features can just get a new smart phone.
"Jupiter Research predicts handheld penetration will only reach a meagre 7% of the overall U.S. population by 2008 - yet opportunities are present for PIM devices. As part of the report, Jupiter Research conducted an independent survey to assess U.S. consumer demand for PDA features and form factors, and another survey to determine their willingness to carry multiple devices. "Basic PDAs with excellent PIM functionality will continue to make up the majority of sales while higher end devices will remain in niche markets only," Gartenberg said. "But as phones with integrated and functional PDA capability come into the market, they can spur growth opportunities for vendors while eschewing other less desirable features such as game play or media integration," added Gartenberg.
I don't know about the 7% figure, but overall, I tend to agree that penetration will be low. At some point people are going to get what they want on a cell phone, which is simply the ability to look up their appointments and to-do list and possibly do a bit of email triage. I could never see my mom caring one whit about a Pocket PC or similar high end mobile device, but having her important items from Outlook with her in a cell phone would be appealing.
Now, as far as PDAs that focus on PIM continuing to grow? I see the exact opposite, for the reasons I just stated. Everyone I know has a cell phone but relatively few have a PDA, and those that want these basic PIM features can just get a new smart phone.
