Shipments of Handhelds Continue to Climb

Handheld shipments during the second quarter of this year increased dramatically. A total of 3.6 million units were shipped, a 32 percent increase from the same period last year, according to market-research company Gartner, Inc.

This continues an upward trend in handheld shipments that has been going on for some time. For example, shipments were up 25 percent in the first quarter of this year.

"The steady growth in the PDA market can be attributed to a combination of factors," said Todd Kort, principal analyst in Gartner's Computing Platforms Worldwide group. "Wireless PDAs are increasingly seen as an adjunct or alternative to notebook computers, while favorable exchange rates have enabled more Europeans to purchase PDAs at an attractive price. These factors have aided in the recovery of the slumping PDA market of 2002-2004."

The handheld market is on track to surpass 15 million units shipped this year, which would be the highest yearly number ever.

BlackBerry Still in Front...

Research in Motion's BlackBerry shipments grew 64.7 percent in the second quarter, to 840,000. By Gartner's reckoning, the company was the worldwide leader in handheld shipments.

In second place was Palm, Inc. The number of handhelds it shipped last quarter declined almost 30 percent to 642,000, but Gartner doesn't include the Treo smartphone with its PDA numbers. Considering that shipments of this smartphone nearly tripled last quarter to 435,000, shipments of all devices from this company declined only slightly when compared with the same quarter last year, and putting it slightly ahead of RIM.

HP's market share dropped 15 percent to 450,500, which Gartner blamed on the fact that the company hasn't refreshed its product line in many months. In addition, Gartner doesn't include iPAQs sold through T-Mobile in this number.

Strong demand for Nokia's 9300 and 9500 cellular-wireless handhelds put this company in fourth place, with 275,000 units shipped.

Like HP, Dell's shipments last quarter also suffered from the fact that this company hasn't released any new models in several quarters. However, Gartner says that both Dell and HP will update their aging product lines in the second half of 2005.

... but Windows Mobile Is in the Lead

Microsoft maintained its position as the leading handheld operating system supplier, as it accounted for 46 percent of worldwide shipments in the second quarter of 2005.

In the battle for second place, RIM extended its lead over PalmSource with 23.2 percent of the market.

Palm OS handheld shipments declined 40.9 percent from a year ago, and it now has 18.8 percent of the world market, but again this doesn't include shipments of smartphones like the Treo. If these were included, the Palm OS would almost certainly be in second place.

Related Links

• Worldwide Handheld Shipments Up 25 Percent
• Worldwide Handheld Shipments Increased Substantially Last Year