Can CE Catch the Palm Platform?
Windows Magazine - April 1999
The Palm platform has maintained its comfortable lead in the
handheld arena, finishing off the fourth quarter of 1998 with 69%
of the market, according to IT marketing information provider
Intelect ASW. That figure represents a 2-point gain over 1Q98.
The Windows CE platform also saw a 2-point gain over its 1Q98
share, to 20%, but still failed to put much of a dent in Palm's
armor. As both platforms showed slight gains in market share, the
slice of the pie that shrunk was the "other" category, which fell
from 15% to 11% from 1Q98 to 4Q98. This category includes
products like Psion and Casio personal organizers.
A more noteworthy statistic, however, is volume-at least according
to John Genovesi, Intelect's vice president of peripherals. While
volume for the Palm was up 66% from the first quarter to the
fourth, CE's volume grew 79% during the same period.
The price gap continued to narrow, with the average CE device
costing $130 more than the Palm. The average retail price for a CE
device fell from $684 to $455 from the first quarter to the fourth.
By contrast, Palm devices rose from $288 to $326 during the same
period.
The top-selling CE device was Casio's Cassiopeia E-11. Philips'
Nino models also made a strong showing. Best-Selling Handhelds
RANK (4Q98) AVG. PRICE*
1 3Com Palm III $358
2 3Com PalmPilot Professional $236
3 Casio Cassiopeia E-11 (CE) $388
4 Casio PV-100 $129
5 Casio PV-200 $150
6 Philips Nino 312 (CE) $376
7 Philips Nino 301 (CE) $345
8 Compaq C-Series 2015c (CE) $541
9 Philips Nino 320 (CE) $486
10 Hewlett-Packard 660LX (CE) $890 Source: Intelect ASW
*Prices are based on sales at traditional retail outlets.
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