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In-Stat/MDR Reports New Components, Form Factors and Pricing to Jump-Start Lagging PDA Market
October 17, 2002 |Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
Scottsdale, Ariz. -- While growth in the PDA market has been less than stellar this year, In-Stat/MDR expects conditions to improve in coming years as demand for PDAs moves beyond the early adopter and mobile professional market into the mainstream consumer and corporate markets.
The high-tech market research firm estimates that, as a result, the PDA market will experience a healthy 17.6 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) between 2001 and 2006, with the highest growth rate anticipated for 2003.
PDA components are taking the lead as PDAs enter a new phase. Upgrades are being made with regard to processors, memory densities, display technology, expansion ports, batteries and operating systems. PDAs are also supporting increased multimedia and wireless communications technology.
With an upswing in the economy, In-Stat/MDR expects an increase in corporate purchases of PDAs for use in the workplace, where previously consumers were bringing their own PDA. Surveys show that about 10 percent of the U.S. workforce currently use some sort of PDA or handheld for business purposes (though they may purchase these devices individually). Looking forward, growth in the adoption of PDAs for business is expected to be quite strong in the United States, primarily due to improvements in functionality, battery life and pricing.
In-Stat/MDR has also found that:
- The battle for market share in the operating system (OS) market (Palm vs. Pocket PC) will heat up again as PalmSource introduces version 5.0 of its OS and new products using this OS are introduced.
- The ability to access the Internet from a PDA is being increasingly integrated into the device. About 19 percent of PDAs will offer this functionality in 2002, and this percentage is expected to grow to 70 percent by 2006.
- An In-Stat/MDR U.S. consumer survey revealed, among other things, that 48.5 percent of those who currently own a PDA own a Palm PDA, and that the highest percentage of those planning to purchase a PDA plan to buy a Palm brand PDA.
- PDAs will face increasing competition from smartphones and other converged/combination multimedia devices offering competing functionalities.
- In the coming years, the Chinese market has big market potential, but it is not without its difficulties. Both Microsoft and PalmSource are gearing up the Chinese versions of their operating systems to begin to compete with the local competition in China.
For more information on the report, "The Worldwide PDA Market: The Next Generation of Mobile Computing," visit www.instat.com.