Handhelds Never Truly Become Popular?

[Ed Hansberry]

<a href="http://www.infosyncworld.com/news/n/4454.html">http://www.infosyncworld.com/news/n/4454.html</a><br /><br />"Jupiter Research predicts handheld penetration will only reach a meagre 7% of the overall U.S. population by 2008 - yet opportunities are present for PIM devices. As part of the report, Jupiter Research conducted an independent survey to assess U.S. consumer demand for PDA features and form factors, and another survey to determine their willingness to carry multiple devices. "Basic PDAs with excellent PIM functionality will continue to make up the majority of sales while higher end devices will remain in niche markets only," Gartenberg said. "But as phones with integrated and functional PDA capability come into the market, they can spur growth opportunities for vendors while eschewing other less desirable features such as game play or media integration," added Gartenberg.<br /><br />I don't know about the 7% figure, but overall, I tend to agree that penetration will be low. At some point people are going to get what they want on a cell phone, which is simply the ability to look up their appointments and to-do list and possibly do a bit of email triage. I could never see my mom caring one whit about a Pocket PC or similar high end mobile device, but having her important items from Outlook with her in a cell phone would be appealing.<br /><br />Now, as far as PDAs that focus on PIM continuing to grow? I see the exact opposite, for the reasons I just stated. Everyone I know has a cell phone but relatively few have a PDA, and those that want these basic PIM features can just get a new smart phone.

[dangerwit]

A saleskid at a local Best Buy store said they're no longer carrying any PDAs at all. I asked him why their PDA shelves were completely gone and hardly any PDAs were on display.

That doesn't sound too good to me. :)

*Phil

[Foo Fighter]

A saleskid at a local Best Buy store said they're no longer carrying any PDAs at all.

Huh? BB is going to drop PDAs? That's impossible. 8O

[shawnc]

PDA's will continue to be a niche market with very little penetration. As Ed indicates, most of what can be done on the low-end PDA's can now be done with a cell phone. People needing PIM will not be looking to PDA's, they'll be looking for cell phones.

Obviously, users who are looking for medium-to-high end PDA's are expecting a different level of functionality. The problem is that no PDA's will allow you to achieve this type of functionality right out of the box. For example, raise you hand if you own a $300+ PDA and do NOT have a storage card. Keyboards, software to provide a better PIM user experience, software so you can actually sync with MS Word, etc, can take the cost of a PPC to upwards of $700. In most households, $700 is a lot of money for a "toy" that will be used by one person. For $700 you can purchase a laptop for family use. All of this for an item that is considered a discretionary or luxury purchase for the overwhelming majority of the population makes this a tough sell. Then factor in the myriad first-time users who get so frustrated with the MS issues (Reader DRM, alarm issues, etc) that they simply give up and don't come back and you limit the pool even further.

Don't get me wrong, I love my PPC. But I'm into my 4155 for close to $800 right now. Unfortunately I simply don't know many folks who have that kind of money to spend on a PDA.

[Ed Hansberry]

A saleskid at a local Best Buy store said they're no longer carrying any PDAs at all. I asked him why their PDA shelves were completely gone and hardly any PDAs were on display.

That doesn't sound too good to me. :)

*Phil
You are the 2nd person that I've heard that BB will be dropping PDAs from. :?

[jbachandouris]

And now you have a third...my Best Buy rep also told me that they are doing away with handheld as well. Question is, what will take their place? I am NOT interested in a so-called 'smart' phone with a 1 hour battery life!

[Foo Fighter]

If this is true, it could deliver a huge blow to the overall handheld industry. If Best Buy, one of the largest Consumer electronics retailers in the industry, is pulling handhelds out of their stores...you have wonder if other major retailers are contemplating similar moves. Perhaps Circuit City and Staples may be next? This is bad. This is VERY bad. :cry:

[ntractv]

I just bought my iPAQ earlier this year with a 2 year protection/replacement plan. If they do drop PDA's, are they going to offer refunds?

[whydidnt]

I have a friend of a friend is a bigwig at Best Buy and he has confirmed that they aren't going to carry PDA's anymore because the profits made weren't worth the hassle. Apparently they have a relatively low profit margin and high return rate.

You may also see fewer and fewer computer peripherals because they also aren't big movers & also suffer from high returns, even though they have a higher profit margin. Best Buy is moving more and more towards consumer - non techie - electronics as they see that as a more profitable area. It's unusual for someone to buy a color TV and return it because they can't figure out how to make it work.

On the handheld pentration, I agree that they are too complex for a lot of people to want to try and figure out. I disagree about a phone PIM, in there present state filling the need though. It has to allow an easy way to update the information to be usuable. Today's phone PIM solutions make it far to difficult to add an appointment or change a time to be an effective soloution.

whydidnt

[jbachandouris]

:?: I read on another site a posting that stated something I hadn't thought of: If Best Buy, one of the largest consumer electronics stores, stops selling handhelds, what will happen to the industry?

Will Circuit City, who made NO profit this Christmas, be next? And what if the article that says there is only 7% market for PDA's in the U.S.? Will be forced to buy online until all PDA's disappear?

[Will T Smith]

:?: I read on another site a posting that stated something I hadn't thought of: If Best Buy, one of the largest consumer electronics stores, stops selling handhelds, what will happen to the industry?

Will Circuit City, who made NO profit this Christmas, be next? And what if the article that says there is only 7% market for PDA's in the U.S.? Will be forced to buy online until all PDA's disappear?


Office stores had elaborate PDA displays well before Best Buy. I don't think you'll ever see them dissapear from Staples because PDAs are such an excellent business tool.

I'm very suspect of market analysts. I consider them little more then windsocks. PDAs are the first truly "personal" computers. If mobile internet is the killer app that makes mobile computing "real", then people won't settle for this little cell-phone displays. I don't believe serious IM over phone keypads is possible.

Finally, I think we should look to Dell for expectations. Dell has somewhat of a touch for anticipating trends. Dell's involvement in PocketPC speaks volumes about what is to come. I trust Dell way better than a spineless market analyst.

[gohtor]

I agree with the statement made.

PDAs will likely be phased out in favor of wearable pc's in the future. why carry a pda when you got a smartphone or a pc sunglasses or pc glove....

bah. I still love my pda. =)

[Janak Parekh]

If this is true, it could deliver a huge blow to the overall handheld industry. If Best Buy, one of the largest Consumer electronics retailers in the industry, is pulling handhelds out of their stores...you have wonder if other major retailers are contemplating similar moves. Perhaps Circuit City and Staples may be next? This is bad. This is VERY bad. :cry:
Well, this might be a shift from PDAs to a two-device solution: the "media player" plus a "smartphone". While someone like me may never be satisfied with it, the mass market may find that more than sufficient.

--janak

[pr0vider]

I pretty much agree with the article; if my Ipaq and Toshiba PDAs weren't just a hobby for me, I'd ditch them in a heartbeat for a smartphone. Only trouble is, I'm getting up there in age and can't see the little bitty displays on a smartphone for my PIM functions; hence, I use a dumb phone and a bluetooth enabled 2215.

[Kash76]

I just bought my iPAQ earlier this year with a 2 year protection/replacement plan. If they do drop PDA's, are they going to offer refunds?

I am also curious about this!!

[piperpilot]

I am also curious about this!!

Ditto here. I still have a year left on my 2-year warranty.

[Air]

I just bought my iPAQ earlier this year with a 2 year protection/replacement plan. If they do drop PDA's, are they going to offer refunds?

I am also curious about this!!

they'll replace it with a PPC PE if you are lucky, otherwise, a free ice tea maker.

:mrgreen:

[Mike Temporale]

About 6 months ago I was told by the Best Buy salesperson that they made next to nothing off of PDA's. Originaly, I brushed off the statement thinking he doesn't really know what the company makes off these things. But now it seems like he did!

It's too bad. Consumers really need some place where they can go to touch and feel before they drop $200+ on a PDA.

[JohnnyFlash]

I bought my most recent e-755 from Circuit City. They continue to get new units in, and Comp USA has recently vastly enlarged their PDA sections. I think that even if Worst Buy gets out of the market, there will always be someplace to touch and feel the product before buying.

Somebody will pick up the slack...I'm not worried.

[Dave Beauvais]

... Consumers really need some place where they can go to touch and feel before they drop $200+ on a PDA.
Well, then Best Buy isn't the "best" place to go, anyway. Their display units are locked down and not even movable on retractable tethers. If there are buttons on the side, they cannot be pressed. :roll:

[Thinkingmandavid]

Today I was able to read an email that was sent to the Best Buy employees in the Wireless & PDA section. It said that they were getting rid of some models for new ones that would be coming in on January 18th. So they are going to keep the Zire71, Tungsten e, HP 2215, and Hp1945. That is for now at least. It did not say which new models they would be getting in, but it did say they were changing their focus to entertainment, so the pda's that they will be carrying will be entertainment focused. :wink:
So old models or models that do not meet their requirements are being phased out, and as time goes by they will be bring in models to fill in the 8 ft section.

[Mike Temporale]

... Consumers really need some place where they can go to touch and feel before they drop $200+ on a PDA.
Well, then Best Buy isn't the "best" place to go, anyway. Their display units are locked down and not even movable on retractable tethers. If there are buttons on the side, they cannot be pressed. :roll:

Fair enough. But they always removed it from the display when I asked.

[Steve Jordan]

Are you forgetting computer stores, catalogs and online sales? Are you forgetting the fact that stores like Target and Wal-Mart are beginning to carry low-end PPCs, and could go higher and higher end as time goes by? If Best Buy and Circuit City can't figure out how to make a profit off of these devices and other computer peripherals, that's just a sign of their business model being inadequate to the task. PPCs sold before Best Buy began carrying them, and they'll continue to sell without their carrying them. It's no big.

[Thinkingmandavid]

Steve Jordan wrote
PPCs sold before Best Buy began carrying them, and they'll continue to sell without their carrying them.
If it turns out for some odd reason they quit selling pda's, which I doubt if you read my above post, then I certainly agree with you. They were around before and will be after.
As an example, T-mobile and Verizon were once available at Best Buy but now they are not. Walk into Circuit City and you will see them there. Just because Best Buy does not carry them does not mean they are done in. :mrgreen:

[mrkablooey]

I was wondering about this the other day. Went in looking for a case, and the whole PDA accessory wall was EMPTY. They had a small rack at the front with stuff marked clearance, but the good stuff must have been sent back.