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Jupiter Research released a study today which forecasts that the U.S. installed base of handheld computers will only grow to 20 million by 2008, a 7% penetration of the overall U.S. population. According to it, the current installed base is about 14 million.

As part of the report, the company conducted an independent survey to assess U.S. consumer demand for handheld features and form factors, and another survey to determine their willingness to carry multiple devices. Jupiter Research has identified what it believes is the "sweet spot" for handhelds: those that offer voice, personal information management (PIM) or a combination of the two, and focus less on other integrated functions.

"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," said Jupiter Research Vice President and Research Director, Michael Gartenberg. "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."

Handheld sales grew steadily over the course of the 1990s, often seeing double-digit annual growth. However, this came to an end when the economy went sour. In recent years, handheld sales have either declined or grown only slightly.

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