Converged Devices Lead Mobile Demand

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The market for handheld and wireless devices is current a bit of mixed bag. A series of research reports from IDC attempt to gauge where the various markets are, and what may be driving them.

The global handheld market recently reported its third successive quarter of year over year decline. IDC’s Worldwide Handheld Qview found shipments decreased 8.7 percent year over year in Q3 20004 to 2.1 million units. The current market leader, palmOne saw its market share decline to 34.7 percent, a 6.9 percent fall. The drop was precipitated by a 20.3 percent sequential decline, making it a 12.7 percent year over year decline. Palm’s loss is HP’s gain. That company increased its market share by 6.7 percent over the previous quarter.

Handheld Rankings
Rank	Vendor	3Q 2004 Shipments	3Q 2004 Market Share
1	palmOne	736,481	34.7%
2	Hewlett-Packard	648,975	30.6%
3	Dell	188,200	8.9%
4	MiTAC	68,500	3.2%
5	Sony	44,192	2.1%
	Other	436,644	20.6%
	Total	2,122,992	100.0%
Source: IDC, October 27, 2004

In Western Europe, the mobile device market (which includes PDAs and smartphones) actually grew 38 percent in the most recent quarter. Over 1.8 million units shipped in Q3 2004, up from 1.3 million units in the same period a year ago. In this market, the survey found the standalone PDA market is growing, though only at a meager 4 percent. European drivers appear to be RIM Blackberry sales and Nokia Series 60-smartphones.

The largest reported growth in Western Europe is for converged devices, which led mobile device shipments with a robust 60 percent year over year growth.

IDC Western European Mobile Device Shipments, 3Q04
Form factor	3Q04	Share	3Q03	Share	Growth
Handheld devices	544,750	30%	524,015	39%	4%
Converged devices	1,301,340	70%	811,470	61%	60%
Total mobile devices	1,846,090	100%	1,335,485	100%	38%
Source: Source: IDC, 2004

In another study, IDC found the “early majority” adopters of mobile devices aren’t interested in the same features that drove early adopters of the technology. A survey of 1,800 early majority adopters found 25 percent of respondents utilized WiFi hotspot access at least 10 times in the past 12 months.

Carrying multiple devices is a commonality among the survey base. Over half carry three mobile devices (mobile phone, PDA and laptop). Almost 66 percent carry both a PDA and a mobile phone. That said, IDC’s survey of early majority adopters did see a clear desire expressed by respondents to minimize their device load. Over half indicate a level of interest in acquiring a converged device that would handle the functionality of multiple devices, such as phone, e-mail and PDA, into a single mobile unit.

In IDC’s analysis, early adopters are preoccupied with style, status and novelty. The early majority, consumers more comfortable waiting until a technology becomes established before purchasing, is more interested productivity and safety.

“When comparing various mobile phone features, attributes like battery life and screen display quality were rated as more important criteria than factors such as one-handed operation, multimedia capability, and brand,” said Dana Thorat, senior research analyst at IDC, in a statement. “Early majority users are more deliberate in their mobility solution decisions, and are clearly focused on proven applications, such as e-mail, that enhance their productivity and add convenience to their lives.