Date:04/08/2005 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/08/04/stories/2005080402780400.htm

Back PDA shipments up 32 pc in Q1

L.N. Revathy

Coimbatore , Aug 3

A SURVEY on the PDA (personal digital assistant) market by Gartner has shown a quantum jump in worldwide shipments in the first quarter of the current fiscal compared to the corresponding previous period, signalling a recovery of the slumping PDA market of 2002-04.

The shipments are said to have touched 3.6 million units during the period under review, recording a 32-per cent increase over the corresponding previous quarter.

At the current pace, Gartner is expecting the shipments to touch 15 million units by the end of 2005, surpassing the record 13.2 million units shipped in 2001.

Mr Todd Kort, Principal Analyst in Gartner's Computing Platforms Worldwide Group, attributed the steady growth in the PDA market to a combination of factors.

"Wireless PDAs are increasingly seen as an adjunct or alternative to notebook computers, while favourable exchange rates have enabled more Europeans to purchase PDAs at an attractive price."

Shipments of BlackBerry, from Research in Motion, grew 64.7 per cent during this period, while Dell and HP continued to lose out on their market share.

Microsoft maintained its position as the leading PDA operating system supplier.