Asia/Pacific Smart Handheld Device Market Set to Boom, Says IDC
PRNewswire - 08:15 a.m. Jun 10, 1999 Eastern
FRAMINGHAM, Mass., June 10 /PRNewswire/ -- The Asia/Pacific
(excluding Japan) smart handheld device (SHD) market is forecast to
exceed 3 million unit shipments by 2003, according to a new report by
International Data Corporation (IDC). Despite the economic crisis that
shackled other IT industry segments in 1998, the regional SHD market
generated 37.5% annual growth to reach almost 158,000 unit shipments.
The primary SHD market driver in 1998 was the emergence of the personal
companion market throughout Asia. Personal companions are small shirt
pocket- sized devices, such as the 3Com Palm Pilot, that use a plastic pen
as the input method and synchronize to a desktop or notebook PC. The
regional personal companion market surged 180% in 1998 to claim more
than 56% of the overall SHD market. Growth for this segment was
bolstered by the release of Windows CE as new competitors rushed to the
market with new products to challenge 3Com's dominance. The most
successful new entrants were companies such as Casio, Philips, and
Sharp. Growth in 1999 will be fueled by even more vendors entering the
market, such as Hewlett-Packard, Compaq, Legend, and IBM.
"The personal companion market will be the primary catalyst for regional
smart handheld device industry growth," said Frederique Jacquot, senior
market analyst at IDC Asia/Pacific. "Windows CE has enabled a variety of
vendors to offer products for the Asian marketplace. The result has been
greater product awareness, more product availability, and extended
channels of distribution throughout the region."
Market Highlights
Australia represented the largest SHD market in the region in 1998,
followed by Singapore and Hong Kong, respectively. The PRC, the
largest PC market in Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan), accounted for a small
portion of regional SHD volume in 1998. However, volumes in the
Chinese market started to step up at the end of 1998 and into the beginning
of 1999. The principal market accelerator in the PRC was Microsoft's
release of a Chinese version of Windows CE in December 1998. By the
beginning of 1999, vendors offering SHDs in the Chinese market included
3Com, Hewlett-Packard, Hisense, IBM, Legend, Leo, Philips, and
Sunshine. Most of these vendors are selling products based on Windows
CE with the exception of 3Com and IBM, who are selling products that
utilize Palm OS. As a result of recent vendor investment in the PRC and
the availability of a localized operating system, the Chinese SHD market is
expected to surge over the next five years.
Competitively, 3Com led the regional SHD market in 1998, accounting for
roughly one-third of the market. Despite the influx of new personal
companion competitors, 3Com generated 65% shipment growth in 1998
compared with the previous year. 3Com was followed by Casio, Sharp,
and Philips in the regional rankings in 1998, respectively. Competition in
1999 is expected to heighten as a growing list of vendors come to market
with new SHD product lines.
With regard to operating systems, Palm OS and Windows CE represented
the largest regional SHD platforms in 1998. Each operating system
accounted for roughly one-third of total 1998 SHD shipments in
Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan). Palm OS maintained its lead in the personal
companion market, but Windows CE led in the other SHD product
segments. 3Com's Palm V and Palm VII product launches in 1998 will
help buttress its share in 1999; however, Microsoft's release of a Chinese
version of Windows CE gives it a significant competitive weapon in the
Asian market.
These findings stem from IDC's new Asia/Pacific Smart Handheld Devices
research. For more information regarding this report or IDC Asia/Pacific
services, please contact Ronnie Gilligan-White at 508-872-8200 or
rgilligan@idc.com.
About IDC
Headquartered in Framingham, Mass., International Data Corporation is
the information technology industry's most comprehensive resource on
worldwide IT markets, trends, products, vendors, and geographies. IDC
provides data, analysis, and advisory services to the world's leading IT
suppliers as well as IS professions in finance, insurance, entertainment,
advertising, consumer goods, and publishing. IDC's research and
opinions are based on the results of more than 300,000 end-user surveys,
in-depth competitive analysis, broad technology coverage, and strategic
analysis. IDC is committed to providing global research with local content
through its 500 analysts in more than 40 countries worldwide. Additional
information on IDC can be found on its Web site at idc.com.
IDC is a division of International Data Group, the world's leading IT
media, research and exposition company.
All product and company names may be trademarks or registered
trademarks of their respective holders. SOURCE International Data
Corporation
Copyright 1999, PR Newswire
o~~~ O |
