PDA sales increase, but at slower rate

SCOTTSDALE, Arizona -- Global shipments of personal digital assistants (PDAs) grew 17% in 2001 despite a weak global economy and continuing erosion of U.S. consumer confidence, according to Cahners In-Stat/MDR. Total shipments reached 8 million units for the year. 

Even though these numbers seem positive, the high-tech market research firm reports that it represents a significant slowdown growth rate from the previous year. "Key PDA market drivers for the coming years will be more robust devices with newer and more reliable applications, backed by better wireless data and phone networks; wider use of Bluetooth and other short-range wireless technologies; and lower unit prices," said Neil Strother, a senior wireless handset analyst with In-Stat/MDR."

New manufacturers

For shipments this year, Strother said, "PDAs will increase about 18% as new manufacturers enter the market and a wave of wireless functionality takes hold in a big way. The future will be all about making the PDA a more ubiquitous device and more useful to both the mobile business user and the on-the-go consumer."

In-Stat/MDR has also found that:

▪ The three major customer segments for PDAs are consumer, mobile professionals, enterprise. 

▪ The global long-term market forecast for PDAs is solid, with annual growth through 2005 in the double-digit range, peaking in about 2004 at 30%, and then tapering off in 2005 as the market matures. 

▪ The current OS leader among PDAs is clearly Palm followed by Pocket PC and Windows CE hold.

The report, Getting a Grip on PDAs: Analysis of the Personal Digital Assistant Market, Segmentation and Forecasts, covers the vendor side of the global PDA market in addition to existing and emerging technologies. It also discusses shipments, revenue and important technological advances. The information is organized by first a technological overview, then a discussion of the key vendors, and finally a forecast.

Hurdles exist

"Recent advances in both wired and wireless Internet access solutions have spurred faster growth of this population in the last couple of years, with hosted applications promising to open up new frontiers in the future," said Kneko Burney, a Director with In-Stat/MDR. "Those surveyed viewed Internet-accessible applications quite positively, seeing them as potentially convenient while out of the office." However, Burney said that hurdles still exist to hosted applications for RAM workers, where security and bandwidth constraints remain concerns.

Cahners In-Stat/MDR issued a related study two weeks ago saying that withi more than 78 million remote and mobile workers (including frequent business travelers who spend 20% of the work year traveling, telecommuters, multi-site workers, non-office workers and mobile office workers) in the U.S. today, demand for Internet and wireless-accessible hosted applications may rise in 2002, according to the report.

In a series of reports, Cahners finds that providing workers with access to business applications and the Internet will be key priorities for U.S. businesses this year, as the steady growth of the remote and mobile (RAM) workforce continues to affect firms’ IT investments.