Palm, Handspring sales beating holiday
expectations
By Bloomberg News
December 11, 2000, 5:00 p.m. PT
Sales for handheld computer makers Palm and Handspring this holiday season
may exceed expectations on strong consumer demand for the devices, Bear
Stearns analyst Andrew Neff said Monday.
Some 54 percent of more than 100 retail stores surveyed from the end of November
said demand for Palm devices is exceeding expectations, he said. Sales of devices
by Handspring, which run on Palm's software, are also brisk, Neff said.
Palm is competing with rivals such as Microsoft to
provide software and devices that help users track
addresses and appointments. Organizers made by
companies such as Compaq Computer running on
Microsoft's software are in short supply this holiday
season, so demand is hard to gauge, Neff said.
Neff said electronic organizers could eventually
be as popular as personal computers.
"Demand is very, very strong for Palm and
Handspring," Neff said in a conference call. He
rates Palm "buy."
"There is potential for upside," he said.
Palm's sales could exceed expectations if the
company supplies enough devices, Neff said.
Handheld organizers have been in short supply
this year because of a lack of key parts.
Some stores are sold out of Palm's m100 and
Palm V devices, Neff said.
Sales of Sony's Clie, which also runs on Palm
software, have been lackluster, he added.
Palm shares could rise this week as the company holds a conference for software
developers, Neff said.
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