Worldwide Handheld Market Grew 65 Percent in 1997, According to
GartnerGroup's Dataquest; 3Com's PalmPilot Grabs 63 Percent of
Standard Handheld Market - 08:04 a.m. May 26, 1998 Eastern
SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 26, 1998--As handheld devices
become easier to use and more affordable, the worldwide handheld industry is
experiencing robust growth with unit shipments reaching 2.4 million units in 1997,
which is up 65 percent from 1996 shipments, according to Dataquest, a unit of
Gartner Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: GART).
The standard handheld segment is leading the industry with 1997 shipments,
surpassing 1.6 million units, a 131 percent increase over 1996 shipments. 3Com's
PalmPilot is credited with much of this growth in the standard handheld market.
3Com shipped more than 1 million units in the standard handheld market, and its
market share increased to 63 percent in 1997, up from 51.7 percent in 1996.
3Com's shipments grew 183 percent from 1996 shipments of 360,000 units. In the
overall handheld market, 3Com accounted for 41 percent of the market.
"Individual business professionals continued to buoy the handheld market, and the
3Com PalmPilot's allure showed no signs of weakening throughout the year," said
Mike McGuire, senior industry analyst for Dataquest's Mobile Computing
Worldwide program. "While we expect individuals to continue to drive the handheld
segment, early interest by corporations investigating the use of unconsciously
portable reference devices such as the Pilot or the Windows CE-based palm-sized
PCs as corporate information tools is definitely on the rise."
Hewlett-Packard was the No. 2 vendor in the standard handheld segment with 15
percent market share. HP was the No. 1 vendor in the Windows CE-based
standard handheld segment with 43 percent market share. Casio and Philips
followed with 17 percent and 16 percent of the Windows CE-based standard
handheld market, respectively. Windows CE accounted for 26 percent of the
standard handheld shipments in 1997.
"Clearly, the bevy of Windows CE-based palm-sized PCs are going to provide a
competitive challenge for the Pilot platform in 1998," said Mr. McGuire. "While
hardware advances are essential to the market's development, software
applications tuned to leverage the handheld form factor and the Internet and
intranet communication pipelines will be what build long-term momentum for the
market."
While standard handhelds are responsible for 65 percent of the overall handheld
market, the expandable organizers segment accounts for 35 percent of the overall
handheld market. Expandable organizers grew 7 percent in 1997, with shipments
increasing to 854,000 units. Sharp was the No. 1 vendor in this segment with 56
percent market share.
Standard handheld computers and expandable organizers are subsets of the larger
handheld market. Standard handhelds are general-purpose computers that are
distinguished from organizers by their adherence to hardware and software
compatibility standards. They typically measure 4 inches by 7 inches by 1 inches
and weigh about 1 pound.
Expandable organizers are also general-purpose computers that are distinguished by
the capability to have the user add applications and memory, and that expansion is
typically proprietary to a particular device or device family. Organizers measure
approximately 3 inches by 6 inches by 3/4 inch and weigh less than 1 pound, have a
keyboard, and operate on batteries.
An overview of the 1997 handheld market will be published in a Dataquest
Perspective slated for publication in the coming months. Additional information on
the mobile computing industry is available in Dataquest's Mobile Computing
Worldwide program. This service focuses on mobile computing hardware but does
discuss software on a qualitative basis in terms of how these changes impact mobile
computing hardware.
To subscribe to Dataquest's Mobile Computing Worldwide program, please call
800-419-DATA, or 408-468-8009. More information about Dataquest's programs,
descriptions of recent research reports, and full text of press releases can be found
on the Internet at dataquest.com.
GartnerGroup's Dataquest is the recognized leader in providing the high-technology
and financial communities with market intelligence for the semiconductor, computer
systems and peripherals, communications, document management, software, and
services sectors of the global information technology industry.
As the world's leading authority on IT, GartnerGroup provides clients with a wide
range of products and services in the areas of IT advisory services, measurement,
research, decision support, analysis, consulting and training. Founded in 1979, with
headquarters in Stamford, Conn., GartnerGroup is at the center of a global
community with 11,086 client organizations served by analysts in 80 locations
worldwide. Additional information about the company is available on the Internet at
gartner.com.
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