Despite New Product Introductions,
Worldwide Market for Handheld Devices Continues to Decline, According
to IDC
Nov 5 2005
FRAMINGHAM, Mass The worldwide
market for handheld devices experienced its seventh consecutive
quarter of year-over-year decline in the third quarter of 2005.
According to IDC's Worldwide Handheld QView, device shipments
decreased 16.9% year over year and fell 8.8% sequentially in 3Q05
to 1.6 million units.
Even as the overall market continues to trend
downwards, device manufacturers are steadily pushing forward with
new product introductions, software upgrades, and solution deployment,
particularly GPS. Given these improvements and the upcoming holiday
season, shipments are expected to increase sequentially but decline
year over year in the fourth quarter. At the same time, the growth
of converged mobile devices, which combine voice and data capabilities
in a single form factor, is placing heightened pressure on the
handheld market. Those vendors who offer both devices are starting
to see shipments of converged mobile devices equal or surpass
shipments of handheld devices.
"The combination of tremendous competition from
converged mobile devices with waning consumer demand for handhelds
is forcing manufacturers to search for new or improved solutions
that leverage existing hardware and software capabilities," said
Ramon Llamas, research analyst in IDC's Mobile Markets program.
"Offering solutions beyond PIM, such as GPS, and reaching out
towards first-time users are important steps, but will not necessarily
bring about a return to growth. Finding and expanding more solutions
to modern mobile consumers and enterprises have become imperatives
for the handheld market to drive growth."
Vendor Highlights
Palm. Leading the market is
Palm, which experienced a 10.8% decline in shipments sequentially
and a 22.7% decline year over year. For the first time, Palm's
shipments of converged mobile devices outpaced the company's handheld
devices. At the same time, the company augmented its portfolio
with two new devices: the Palm
Z22, aimed at the first-time user, and thePalm
TX, targeted at advanced users on a budget.
HP. Thanks to new product introductions
in Europe and Asia/Pacific, HP grew 4.4% sequentially but decreased
35.4% year over year, maintaining its number 2 position. With
devices aimed at enterprise and consumer users along a broad range
of price points and its growing lineup of converged mobile devices,
HP
moves closer to balancing its portfolio across both markets.
Acer. Marking its third consecutive
quarter in the Top 5 is Acer, which saw 5.3% sequential growth
but an astounding 421.0% year-over-year growth. A year ago, the
company was a smaller player in the worldwide market, but has
since benefited from the departure of other companies. Acer has
yet to create a global footprint as most of its shipments remain
only in Europe and Asia/Pacific, but at the same time still enjoys
the popularity of its consumer-targeted n35 device.
Dell. Holding steady in the
number 4 position, Dell experienced a 9.6% sequential decline
and a year-over-year decline of 13.9% in the third quarter. With
the X3, X3i, and X5 all but gone from its lineup and the X50 and
X30 reaching the end of their product lifecycles, Dell updated
its portfolio with the introduction of the X51v. In addition,
Dell's direct-sales model and ability to bundle its devices with
other packages contributed to the company's continued success
in the handheld market.
Mio. New to the Top 5 list this
quarter is Mio, which experienced a sequential decline of 22.6%,
but impressive 58.0% growth from one year ago. Like third place
Acer, Mio was a smaller player a year ago with shipment levels
that kept it well outside the Top 5. But thanks to the success
of its GPS-enabled 168 and 336BT devices, along with other devices
positioned for the consumer and enterprise segments, the company
was able to slip past previous number 5 vendor Yakumo.
Top 5 Vendors, Worldwide Handheld Device Shipments and Market
Share, 3Q 2005 (Preliminary)
Rank
|
Vendor
|
3Q 2005 Shipments
|
3Q 2005 Market Share
|
3Q 2004 Shipments
|
3Q 2004 Market Share
|
1
|
Palm
|
569,388
|
33.8%
|
736,481
|
36.4%
|
2
|
HP
|
397,016
|
23.6%
|
615,515
|
30.4%
|
3
|
Acer
|
188,760
|
11.2%
|
36,232
|
1.8%
|
4
|
Dell
|
162,000
|
9.6%
|
188,200
|
9.3%
|
5
|
Mio
|
85,609
|
5.1%
|
54,172
|
2.7%
|
|
Others
|
282,780
|
16.8%
|
393,552
|
19.4%
|
|
Total
|
1,685,553
|
100.0%
|
2,024,152
|
100.0%
|
Source: IDC, October 26, 2005
Notes:
- Vendor shipments are branded shipments and exclude OEM sales
for all vendors.
- Handheld devices are pocket-sized, either pen or keypad-centric,
and are capable of synchronizing with desktop or laptop computers.
Handheld devices are designed to access and manage data including
office documents, multimedia, and games.
- Handheld devices do not include telephony but may include
wireless capabilities that enable Internet access and text communication.
These devices feature evolved operating systems or applications
environments such as the Palm OS, Windows Mobile Pocket PC,
Linux, or other proprietary platforms with the ability to download,
run applications, and store user data beyond their required
PIM capabilities.
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