PDA sales slump due to low corporate demand

NEW YORK: Handheld computer shipments slumped in 2002, as an expected boom in

demand from corporations failed to materialize, according to an industry study.

Worldwide shipments of personal digital assistants, or PDAs, the pocket-sized

digital companions that can store thousands of appointments, contacts and notes,

fell 9.1 percent to 12.1 million units in 2002, according to Dataquest Inc., a

unit of research firm Gartner Inc.

"The more lucrative enterprise market has been stagnant because of poor

economic conditions and a perception that PDAs are not yet capable of delivering

sufficient return on investment," said Todd Kort, principal analyst for

Gartner Dataquest's Computing Platforms Worldwide group.

He estimates that about 70 percent of all PDAs are purchased by consumers and

only 30 percent by enterprises.

Palm Inc., the dominant maker of handheld computers, saw its shipments

decline 12.2 percent worldwide in 2002. Still, the 4.4 million units it shipped

last year were double the shipments by its nearest competitor, and more than the

combined total of its five closest competitors.

Palm device shipments represented 37 percent of the overall market, Dataquest

said. Palm also continues to lead the market for the software that powers

handhelds, with a 56 percent stake, compared with rival Microsoft Corp.'s 26

percent.

Hewlett-Packard Co., shipped 1.6 million units in 2002, down 27 percent from

the year before.

Sony Corp. vaulted to No. 3, on a 351 percent jump in shipments, to 1.3

million units. Conversely, Handspring Inc., which shifted its focus away from

handhelds toward mobile phones, shipped only 698,000 PDAs, down 49 percent,

Dataquest said. Dell Computer Corp., which stirred the handheld computer market

late in the year with the introduction of its first line of PDAs, shipped

54,000, according to the study.

© Reuters