Gartner Says Worldwide PDA Industry Suffers 5 Percent Shipment Decline in
2003
STAMFORD, Conn., January 30, 2004 — PDA vendors are beginning to feel the impact
that smartphones and enhanced mobile phones are having on the industry, as worldwide
PDA shipments totaled 11.5 million units in 2003, a 5.3 percent decline from 2002,
according to preliminary results from Gartner, Inc.
"Through the end of 2004, smartphones will generally have a negative impact on the
low end of the PDA market, as many individual users will find the personal information
management (PIM) and e-mail capabilities of smartphones acceptable," said Todd Kort,
principal analyst in Gartner's Computing Platforms Worldwide group. "These users
will tend to become less interested in low-end PDAs that have provided these capabilities."
"This will primarily impact the Palm OS because a relatively high percentage of
Palm OS users rely on these devices solely for their PIM capabilities. Smartphones
will become more important in the enterprise market in 2005, at which point we expect
to see increasing erosion of the Microsoft side of the market," said Kort.
Research in Motion (RIM) thrived in the fourth quarter of 2003, as shipments totaled,
259,000 units, nearly equaling the total it shipped in all of 2002. RIM posted the
strongest growth rate among top-tier vendors in 2003, as shipments increased 121
percent from 2002 (see Table 1). Approximately 35 to 40 percent of recent RIM shipments
were upgrades of older RIM devices. RIM's subscriber base is now close to one million
users worldwide.
Table 1
Preliminary Worldwide PDA Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 2003 (Units)
Company |
2003 Shipments |
2003 Market Share (%) |
2002 Shipments |
2002 Market Share (%) |
Growth (%) |
| palmOne |
4,164,790 |
36.4 |
5,144,890 |
42.5 |
-19.0 |
| Hewlett-Packard |
2,274,835 |
19.9 |
1,621,317 |
13.4 |
40.3 |
| Sony |
1,401,090 |
12.2 |
1,328,555 |
11.0 |
5.5 |
| Research in Motion |
603,175 |
5.3 |
272,450 |
2.3 |
121.4 |
| Dell |
582,500 |
5.1 |
77,000 |
0.6 |
656.5 |
| Toshiba |
341,669 |
3.0 |
439,153 |
3.6 |
-22.2 |
| Others |
2,087,718 |
18.2 |
3,210,394 |
26.5 |
-35.0 |
| Total |
11,455,777 |
100.0 |
12,093,759 |
100.0 |
-5.3 |
Note: Totals include cellular PDAs such as RIM BlackBerry 7230, but not smartphones.
palmOne results include Handspring shipments.
Source: Gartner Dataquest (January 2004)
Gartner analysts said Hewlett-Packard was the most aggressive vendor in the second
half of 2003, as it released seven new PDA models that hit price points ranging
from $199 to $599. palmOne did well with the Tungsten T3 for the midrange PDA market,
but palmOne, Sony, Dell, and Toshiba found the majority of demand for their products
in the fourth quarter of 2003 was for sub-$250 models.
In the U.S. PDA market, palmOne was still the No. 1 vendor based on shipments in
2003; however, it suffered a double-digit decline. In 2002, the company accounted
for more than half of all PDA shipments, but in 2003, its market share slipped to
43.3 percent (see Table 2).
Table 2
Preliminary U.S. PDA Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 2003 (Units)
Company |
2003 Shipments |
2003 Market Share (%) |
2002 Shipments |
2002 Market Share (%) |
Growth (%) |
| palmOne |
2,537,300 |
43.4 |
3,265,000 |
54.8 |
-22.3 |
| Hewlett-Packard |
887,500 |
15.2 |
677,828 |
11.4 |
30.9 |
| Sony |
866,500 |
14.8 |
859,000 |
14.4 |
0.9 |
| Research in Motion |
435,500 |
7.5 |
75,000 |
1.3 |
480.7 |
| Dell |
433,000 |
7.4 |
196,000 |
3.3 |
120.9 |
| Toshiba |
178,361 |
3.1 |
236,989 |
4.0 |
-24.7 |
| Others |
504,530 |
8.6 |
653,536 |
11.0 |
-22.8 |
| Total |
5,842,691 |
100.0 |
5,963,353 |
100.0 |
-2.0 |
Note: Totals include cellular PDAs such as RIM BlackBerry 7230, but not smartphones.
palmOne results include Handspring shipments.
Source: Gartner Dataquest (January 2004)
On a regional basis, Asia/Pacific contributed to much of the worldwide decline in
PDA sales. PDA shipments in Asia/Pacific declined 30 percent in 2003 and dropped
25 percent in Japan. PDA shipments in Western Europe increased 12 percent.
"The U.S. market continues to consume just over half of all PDA shipments, and the
U.S. PDA market is the key segment for overall growth," Kort said. "However, a weakening
U.S. dollar is forcing U.S. PDA prices up because most PDAs and their components
are manufactured in Asian markets, particularly Taiwan. Therefore, we expect good
results in Europe, but mediocre sales in North America in 2004."
Gartner analysts will provide detailed analysis on the impact wireless technologies
can have on enterprises during the Gartner Wireless and Mobile Summit at the Chicago
Downtown Marriott, March 8-10. Gartner analysts will examine the risks that mobile
vendors and users will face in a future of accelerating technological and business
change. Additional information is available at www.gartner.com/us/wireless. Members
of the media can register by contacting Cindy Sandberg at cindy.sandberg@gartner.com.
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