| Linux PDA shipments down, report finds |
Apr. 30, 2004
[Updated 6:15pm PDT] -- Market research from Gartner suggests that Linux PDA shipments declined very slightly in the first quarter of 2004, compared to shipments in the first quarter of 2003. The unabridged summary finding is reproduced below.
Gartner Says First Quarter 2004 Results Show PalmSource and Microsoft in a Virtual Tie for No. 1 Ranking in Worldwide PDA Operating Systems Market
Worldwide PDA shipments declined 4.6 percent in the first quarter of 2004, but the battle for the PDA operating system market has heated up as PalmSource and Microsoft were in a virtual tie in shipments in the first quarter of 2004, according to preliminary results from Gartner, Inc.
Palm OS shipments declined by 20.7 percent in the first quarter of 2004 compared with the same period last year (see Table 1). Palm OS market share slipped to 40.7 percent, while the Windows CE market share increased to 40.2 percent. Microsoft licensees have been steadily chipping away at the Palm OS lead since 2000, when Microsoft accounted for 11 percent of the PDA market.
"The decline in Palm OS market share in the first quarter of 2004 is not unexpected because many Palm OS users have delayed PDA purchases until they can evaluate PalmSource's upcoming operating system Cobalt," said Todd Kort, principal analyst in Gartner's Computing Platforms Worldwide group. "Palm OS has also been impacted by Microsoft's bundling of Outlook with every Pocket PC, and the preferred status that Microsoft Windows enjoys with enterprise application developers."
Table 1: Preliminary Worldwide PDA Shipment Estimates by Operating System for 1Q04 (Units)
1Q04 1Q03
Market Market
1Q04 Share 1Q03 Share Growth
Company Shipments (%) Shipments (%) (%)
---------------------------------------------------------------
Palm OS 1,113,089 40.7 1,403,418 49.0 -20.7
Windows CE 1,099,931 40.2 1,051,401 36.7 4.6
Research in Motion 405,000 14.8 89,500 3.1 352.5
Linux 52,300 1.9 52,967 1.8 -1.3
Others 64,490 2.4 268,278 9.4 -76.0
Total 2,734,810 100.0 2,865,564 100.0 -4.6
--------------------------------------------------------------- Note: Totals include cellular PDAs such as RIM BlackBerry 7230, but not smartphones. PalmOne results include Handspring PDA shipments. Source: Gartner Dataquest (April 2004) Research in Motion experienced the strongest growth among PDA vendors as its shipments increased 352 percent. Its market share jumped to 14.8 percent in the first quarter of 2004, up from 3.1 percent in the first quarter of 2003 (see Table 2).
"In the last nine months there has been tremendous growth in the use of RIM BlackBerry devices. Given the number of e-mail messages sent or received each day by mobile professionals, it makes sense for many of them to have a pocket wireless device that can be used to keep up with e-mail," Kort said. "RIM has begun licensing its technology to Nokia, Siemens, and Motorola for use in mobile phones, as well as to several PDA vendors. This will undoubtedly provide a significant boost to sales of a wide variety of wireless handheld devices beginning in the second half of 2004."
Table 2: Preliminary Worldwide PDA Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 1Q04 (Units)
1Q04 1Q03
Market Market
1Q04 Share 1Q03 Share Growth
Company Shipments (%) Shipments (%) (%)
---------------------------------------------------------------
PalmOne 834,738 30.5 933,421 32.6 -10.6
Hewlett-Packard 579,842 21.2 455,115 15.9 27.4
Research in Motion 405,000 14.8 89,500 3.1 352.5
Sony 230,666 8.4 376,909 13.2 -38.8
Dell 163,800 6.0 145,170 5.1 12.8
Others 520,764 19.0 865,449 30.2 -39.8
Total 2,734,810 100.0 2,865,564 100.0 -4.6
--------------------------------------------------------------- Note: Totals include cellular PDAs such as RIM BlackBerry 7230, but not smartphones. PalmOne results include Handspring PDA shipments. Source: Gartner Dataquest (April 2004) On a regional basis, Western Europe exhibited the strongest growth rate, as PDA shipments increased 24 percent in the first quarter. The U.S. PDA market dropped 13 percent. The Asia/Pacific and Japan regions saw PDA shipments decrease 19 percent and 21 percent, respectively. Latin America PDA shipments were up 9 percent from the first quarter of 2003.
Additional information is available in the Gartner Alert "PalmSource, Microsoft Tie for 1Q04 PDA Market Lead." The Alert provides further analysis on the industry trends for the PDA market. This Alert is available on Gartner's Web site, here.
Copyright © 2004 Gartner, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduced by LinuxDevices.com with permission.
Related Stories:
(Click here for further information)
|
|
|
7 Advantages of D2D Backup
For decades, tape has been the backup medium of choice. But, now, disk-to-disk (D2D) backup is gaining in favor. Learn why you should make the move in this whitepaper.
4 Legal Reasons to Control Internet Access
The Internet is obviously a valuable resource for many organizations. However, many are exposed to legal liability concerns because they fail to control Internet access. Learn if you're safe in this white paper.
Rapidly Resolve J2EE Application Problems
Whether you are in the process of building J2EE applications or have J2EE applications already running in production, you must ensure that they deliver the expected ROI. Learn how in this white paper.
Load Testing 2.0 for Web 2.0
There are many unknowns in stress testing Web 2.0 applications. Find out how to test the performance of Web 2.0 in this white paper.
Build Better Games Online
For the game infrastructure providers, life is complex. Making money from games has become more complicated. Why? Find out in this white paper.
Building a Virtual Infrastructure from Servers to Storage
This white paper discusses the virtual storage solutions that reduce cost, increase storage utilization, and address the challenges of backing up and restoring Server environments.
Gaining Faster Wireless Connections with WiMAX
Welcome to what is quickly becoming the hyperconnected world where anything that would benefit from being connected to the network will be connected. Learn more in this white paper.
Is Your Desktop a Security Threat?
The new wave of sophisticated crimeware not only targets specific companies, but also targets desktops and laptops as backdoor entryways into those business’ operations and resources. Learn how to stay safe in this white paper.
Increasing SAN Reliability by 100 Percent
Storage area networks (SAN) are a strong part of storage plans. Learn how to increase your reliability and uptime by 100 percent in this case study.
|
|
|
|
|
Use of this site is governed by our Terms of
Service and Privacy Policy.
Except where otherwise specified, the contents of this site are copyright © 1999-2008
Ziff Davis Enterprise Holdings Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Ziff Davis Enterprise is
prohibited. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.
news feed