Smart Phones Seen Leading Handheld Computer Growth
Monday February 26 12:43 PM ET
FRAMINGHAM, Mass. (Reuters) - Global shipments of handheld computers are expected to soar over the next three years, according to a study that said sales would be spurred by growth of mobile phones that also play music and store databases of a user's contacts.
The worldwide market for the gadgets will grow to over 63.4 million by 2004 from 12.9 million units in 2000, research firm IDC said on Monday....
"Technological progress, particularly in mobile multimedia and wireless areas, will continue at a rapid pace, and 2001 will prove to be the year when mobile access devices hit their stride," said Kevin Burden, manager for IDC's Smart Handheld Devices research program.
According to IDC, "smart" phones, boasting color screens, contact databases and the ability to play music and videos, will be the fastest growing segment, at a annual rate of about 164 percent to over 23 million units by 2004. They may nibble at the PDA market, which is dominated by Palm Inc. (NasdaqNM:PALM - news)....
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