PDA sales soar in 2000
As PCs floundered, consumers snapped
up handheld devices
January 26, 2001: 5:12 p.m. ET
NEW YORK (CNNfn) - In 2000, personal computer vendors slogged through
one of their most difficult years in recent memory; but at the same time, the
market for handheld computing devices exploded.
Sales of handheld computers, sometimes referred to as portable digital
assistants, or PDAs, more than doubled last year, according to a report from
market research firm NPD Intellect.
By NPD Intellect's count, handheld sales totaled about $1.03 billion last year,
a 136 percent increase over $436.5 million in 1999.
Palm Inc. (PALM: Research,
Estimates), whose "Pilot"
devices first hit the market
about six years ago and have
grown in popularity ever since,
held its position as the leading
supplier of handheld
computers. But the emergence
of Handspring Inc. (HAND:
Research, Estimates), whose
"Visor" brand handhelds use
the same operating system as
the Palm's, as well as the
introduction of Microsoft-based
"PocketPCs" from several
vendors narrowed the gap.
During 2000, Palm took 72.1
percent of the handheld pie, compared with its 77.5 percent market share in
1999. Handspring, which did not show up in the rankings in 1999, took a
respectable 13.9 percent.
Meanwhile, Compaq Computer Corp. (CPQ: Research, Estimates), the world's
largest PC supplier, joined the handheld fray as well.
Compaq, was one of three vendors offering PocketPCs, the term used to
describe computers powered by Microsoft's newest version of its handheld
computing operating system. The company snatched 2 percent of the market
in 2000, according to NPD Intellect's data.
Launched in late April, the PocketPC platform is a much improved and
simplified version of Microsoft's Windows CE operating system, previous
incarnations of which had been derided as nothing more than a slimmed down
version of its desktop OS and not conducive to the handheld environment.
Other vendors offering PocketPC devices in 2000 included Hewlett-Packard
(HWP: Research, Estimates), which took 2.3 percent of the market share, and
Casio, which garnered 6 percent.
Together, handheld computer makers shipped more than 3.5 million units in
2000, a more than 169 percent increase over 1.3 million in 1999, NPD Intellect
said.
That growth stands in stark contrast to the growth rate in the PC market in
2000.
In all of 2000, PC makers shipped 134.8 million units in 200, a 14.5 percent
annual increase and sharply below the 23.3 percent unit shipment growth the
PC industry logged in 1999, according to preliminary figures released by
technology research firm Gartner Dataquest last week. |
