09-12-2002, 10:10 PM
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Executive Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 29,160
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PDA Shipments Continue to Slide
http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,104870,tk,dn091102X,00.asp
Palm-OS based devices edge up a little, iPAQ/Jornada numbers trail by quite a bit. We need some OEM innovation! We need a new OS! We need....fuel cells. 
"The number of handheld PDAs shipped worldwide declined 9.3 percent in the second quarter of 2002 compared with the same quarter last year, according to market researcher IDC. About 2.6 million PDAs were shipped in the second quarter, down from just under 2.9 million in the same quarter last year, IDC said in a release Tuesday...
...Palm held the largest share of the market in the second quarter of this year with 32.2 percent, up from 30.9 percent in the second quarter last year, IDC's research showed. Second were PDAs made by Hewlett-Packard with 16.5 percent, and third were PDAs made by Sony with 10 percent. Handspring with 6.5 percent and China-based manufacturer Hi-Tech Wealth Electronic Product with 4.6 percent were fourth and fifth respectively, according to IDC, based in Framingham, Massachusetts."
You can also check out the orignal IDC document.
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09-12-2002, 11:20 PM
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Mystic
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 1,768
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wow
That is is a significant decline for HP/Compaq. If there is any good from it, I hope it is that HP realizes they need to innovate a little faster and drop the silly single expansion slot limitation in the current crop of iPaq devices. I won't add a sleave to my PDA unless it is for a third peripheral.
__________________
Jonathan (JonnoB)
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." -Edmund Burke
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09-13-2002, 12:08 AM
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Thinker
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 412
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No incremental improvements
I'm not a leading edge purchaser normally. But I'm already feeling the lag between my 3630 iPaq and what I want to use it for. However, being a reasonable adopter, I don't see any PPC models out there that are worth the small incremental gain I would get in functionality over my 3630 plus all the doodads I have for it. Granted, less weight, but for the $1500 dollars I'd have to spend to replace those things, I'd have relatively little to show for those bucks.
As soon as I see a generational increase in functionality, I'll buy. This would mean something like a faster processor that actually ran faster, a significant amount of onboard memory, a doubling of battery life, etc.
Some of the current models are tempting, but I just can't make the business case to upgrade, and it's looking like it might be more than a year until that happens.
K
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09-13-2002, 12:28 AM
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Pupil
Join Date: Apr 2002
Posts: 29
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Re: No incremental improvements
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Originally Posted by Karen
I'm not a leading edge purchaser normally. But I'm already feeling the lag between my 3630 iPaq and what I want to use it for. However, being a reasonable adopter, I don't see any PPC models out there that are worth the small incremental gain I would get in functionality over my 3630 plus all the doodads I have for it. Granted, less weight, but for the $1500 dollars I'd have to spend to replace those things, I'd have relatively little to show for those bucks.
As soon as I see a generational increase in functionality, I'll buy. This would mean something like a faster processor that actually ran faster, a significant amount of onboard memory, a doubling of battery life, etc.
Some of the current models are tempting, but I just can't make the business case to upgrade, and it's looking like it might be more than a year until that happens.
K
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1500 dollars is a lot.
What kind of things do you have for your iPaq that you would need to replace with a new device?
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09-13-2002, 02:03 AM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 137
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I agree. The incremental functionality on the new IPAQ's is just not worth the money. The screen is great on the 3900 but it's hard to justify the cost. Hopefully there will be some downward pressure with new market entries like Dell. The high end with BT and/or WiFi should be under $500 to attract a larger user base. Those equiped like the current models should be under $300 IMO.
I can't really figure out the audience they are looking for. If it's only nerds like us willing to pay to be the first kid on the block for new wizardry, they'll have trouble attracting a larger market without some pricing concessions. There's even a lot of resistance in our group.
dart
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09-13-2002, 02:31 AM
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Pontificator
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 1,466
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According to eTforecasts, Pocket PC will surpass PalmOS by 2004:
http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/...0902/222520318
I have to say though, I'm getting pretty damn sick of these "market forecasts". They aren't worth the toilet paper they're printed on. :roll:
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09-13-2002, 02:33 AM
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Sage
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 667
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Re: No incremental improvements
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Originally Posted by Karen
As soon as I see a generational increase in functionality, I'll buy. This would mean something like a faster processor that actually ran faster, a significant amount of onboard memory, a doubling of battery life, etc.
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I couldn't agree more; the new models we're currently seeing are nice and all, but way too incremental to get excited over. I used to think that I'd upgrade my iPaq when new devices arrived that 1) had X-Scale CPUs and 2) had a new PPC OS version. In my mind, I figured that, by then, those products would also probably have 128MB of RAM and much better battery life.
Now as I look at it today, X-Scale is not significantly faster than SA1100, RAM has stalled at 64MB, battery life is only a bit longer, the next PPC OS remains unannounced, and it was discussed here a few months ago that MS is not optimising for X-Scale in the next OS. We're not exactly moving at a breathtaking pace, here.
There are a few interesting things happening in the PPC Phone Edition, but I still think that's very much a niche market and it doesn't interest me. (Just a BT PPC and a BT mobile phone for me, please.) I don't know what proportion of PPC sales is traditionally from upgraders, but if it's significant then I'm not surprised that sales are declining. Except for the terminally enthusiastic among us, there's just no compelling reason to upgrade right now. I would love to get truly excited about a PPC again, but for now it'll just have to remain merely a valuable and indespensible productivity tool.
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09-13-2002, 02:42 AM
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Pontificator
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 1,466
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Re: wow
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Originally Posted by JonnoB
That is a significant decline for HP/Compaq.
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I wonder if this decline has anything to do with HPs decision to kill the Jornada. HPs earlier high marketshare was the result of combined iPaq - Jornada unit sales. If Jornada sales are trailing off sharply, it could be dragging HP down.
What is need now is a lower priced model, perhaps the rumored iPaq 2200, to help jump start sales.
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09-13-2002, 03:40 AM
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Pupil
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 32
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Re: No incremental improvements
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Originally Posted by Rob Alexander
I couldn't agree more; the new models we're currently seeing are nice and all, but way too incremental to get excited over.
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You know... on the one hand, people complain when the evolution of the handheld is too slow. Then, when the new version comes out, and there's no upgrade path for the current model...
:?
I am running on a monochrome iPaq upgraded to the 2002 code. It does everything I need PLUS have great battery life. I'm not going to get a new one for a very long time -- or at least until some REAL LIVE functionality improvement comes along.
Oldan[/b]
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09-13-2002, 03:54 AM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 190
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We need a hell of a lot better power management too. I'm sick of buying Pocket PCs that last only about 2 hours before they start crying for juice...
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