Palm OS account for 51% of PDA shipments and 41% of worldwide revenues in 2Q

Dom · Aug 19, 2003, 11:40 AM

Poor worldwide economic conditions, low consumer confidence and a severe decline in the China market affected the worldwide PDA market in the second quarter of 2003, as shipments dropped 7.3% from the same period last year, according to Gartner.

Palm OS-based PDAs comprised 51.4% of worldwide PDA shipments, while Pocket PC PDAs composed 35.9% of total units. In end-user spending, PalmSource licensees accounted for 41% of the US$827 million spent on PDAs last quarter, compared with 47.7% spent on Microsoft Pocket PC PDAs. The 66% higher average selling price of Pocket PCs accounted for the difference between unit and dollar shares.

“It is critical for Palm to hold its ground while waiting for the launch of Palm OS 6, which is expected in early 2004,” said Todd Kort, principal analyst for Gartner’s Computing Platforms Worldwide group. “OS 6 should put Palm on more even footing with Microsoft as wireless PDAs gain acceptance in enterprises in 2004.”

In the overall PDA market, the second quarter is traditionally slow. However, Palm experienced a 15.3% increase in shipments from a year ago, and it held onto the top spot in the worldwide rankings with 38% of PDA shipments. Hewlett-Packard (HP) remained in the No. 2 position with 15.3% of the market, even though shipments were down 10%. Research in Motion (RIM) moved into the top five worldwide with market share of 5.3%, up from 2.1% a year ago.

“The Palm Zire 71 was by far the best-selling PDA on the market, and the new Tungsten C was also well received, which helped PalmOne maintain its solid leadership position,” Kort said. “While HP’s shipments were down, a good portion of their decline is attributable to shipments cutbacks in anticipation of the launch of five new models following the introduction of Microsoft’s Windows Mobile 2003 operating system on June 23.”

PalmOne still sits atop the US PDA market with a 46.7% market share, while Sony remained No. 2 with 12.1% market share. Sony maintains an aggressive PDA development program, but Gartner analysts said Sony has been impacted by the Palm Zire 71, which has helped Palm stem the tide of customer defections to Sony.

“RIM also had an excellent quarter in the US, growing 128%,” Kort said. “RIM has introduced several new models that provide an incentive for subscribers to upgrade from older Mobitex-based units to models based on GSM/GPRS or CDMA 1x. RIM is rapidly expanding its presence outside North America and more deeply penetrating existing accounts.”

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Aug 19, 2003, 11:40 AM	#1
Dom DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 12,942 Rep Power: 0	Palm OS account for 51% of PDA shipments and 41% of worldwide revenues in 2Q Poor worldwide economic conditions, low consumer confidence and a severe decline in the China market affected the worldwide PDA market in the second quarter of 2003, as shipments dropped 7.3% from the same period last year, according to Gartner. Palm OS-based PDAs comprised 51.4% of worldwide PDA shipments, while Pocket PC PDAs composed 35.9% of total units. In end-user spending, PalmSource licensees accounted for 41% of the US$827 million spent on PDAs last quarter, compared with 47.7% spent on Microsoft Pocket PC PDAs. The 66% higher average selling price of Pocket PCs accounted for the difference between unit and dollar shares. “It is critical for Palm to hold its ground while waiting for the launch of Palm OS 6, which is expected in early 2004,” said Todd Kort, principal analyst for Gartner’s Computing Platforms Worldwide group. “OS 6 should put Palm on more even footing with Microsoft as wireless PDAs gain acceptance in enterprises in 2004.” In the overall PDA market, the second quarter is traditionally slow. However, Palm experienced a 15.3% increase in shipments from a year ago, and it held onto the top spot in the worldwide rankings with 38% of PDA shipments. Hewlett-Packard (HP) remained in the No. 2 position with 15.3% of the market, even though shipments were down 10%. Research in Motion (RIM) moved into the top five worldwide with market share of 5.3%, up from 2.1% a year ago. “The Palm Zire 71 was by far the best-selling PDA on the market, and the new Tungsten C was also well received, which helped PalmOne maintain its solid leadership position,” Kort said. “While HP’s shipments were down, a good portion of their decline is attributable to shipments cutbacks in anticipation of the launch of five new models following the introduction of Microsoft’s Windows Mobile 2003 operating system on June 23.” PalmOne still sits atop the US PDA market with a 46.7% market share, while Sony remained No. 2 with 12.1% market share. Sony maintains an aggressive PDA development program, but Gartner analysts said Sony has been impacted by the Palm Zire 71, which has helped Palm stem the tide of customer defections to Sony. “RIM also had an excellent quarter in the US, growing 128%,” Kort said. “RIM has introduced several new models that provide an incentive for subscribers to upgrade from older Mobitex-based units to models based on GSM/GPRS or CDMA 1x. RIM is rapidly expanding its presence outside North America and more deeply penetrating existing accounts.” Read More...