Microsoft Dominates Improving PDA Western European Market

[Ed Hansberry]

<a href="http://www.enn.ie/frontpage/news-9388332.html">http://www.enn.ie/frontpage/news-9388332.html</a><br /><br />"Western European PDA shipments were up 38 percent in the fourth quarter and up 28 percent during the whole of 2003, the first full year of growth since 2000."<br /><br />It is about time. :mrgreen: Not only has the PDA market improved, Microsoft and its OEM partners are reaping the benefit of the growing market. "Last quarter saw Pocket PC vendors reap the rewards of an expanded retail presence, in-store marketing, and targeted promotions such as GPS and camera bundles," said senior Analyst Tim Mui. "A consumer market drawn to attractive low-cost Pocket PC offerings and a renewed interest in mobile solutions from large and medium enterprises helped Pocket PC devices to overtake Palm OS-based products in 2003." :rock on dude!: <br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/hansberry/2004/20040123-4thqtrmarketshare.gif" /><br /><br />Above you can see Microsoft vs. Palm in total units shipped in Western Europe during 2003, and the 4th quarter growth Microsoft experienced vs. the decline Palm saw. Broken down by OEM, HP was the biggest winner garnering 37% share vs. 20% last year. Other Pocket PC vendors saw increases as well. Palm hardware dropped from 51% last year to 30% this year. Other Palm OS vendors saw similar declines. This may have been behind <a href="http://ir.thomsonfn.com/investorrelations/PubNewsStory.aspx?partner=5150&storyId=104048">PalmOne's recent 12% layoff.</a>

[Boxster S]

Western Europe???

How about some US figures, then we can rant and rave :popcorn:

[surur]

Western Europe???

How about some US figures, then we can rant and rave :popcorn:

Before this scrolls of the front page, does anyone have any idea regarding the relative size of the US market vs the Rest of the World (in terms of units shipped and revenue).

Surur

[Stik]

My understanding is the N. American ( and the rest of the pda world's ) numbers should be out very shortly. I have the strange feeling that Ed will be on top of it when the information becomes available. :lol:

It was great ( finally! ) to see those very positive ( Microsoft OS ) numbers coming out of w. Europe!

I have my doubts about the U.S ( Canada? ) numbers however.

( Hope I'm wrong!! )

Why?

Total LACK of mass media marketing!

I have seen no advertising for PPC's in either T.V or major print publications.

What I have seen however in the U.S is massive marketing for ( in my best Brady Bunch voice :alfdance: ) Smarthones, Smartphones, Smartphones!

Here's a few more details about the W. European numbers...

HP — With a revamped portfolio of Pocket PC 2003 devices launched last summer, HP had the product breadth to target all market segments during 4Q03. By exploiting its image as the high-end PDA brand and perceived position as the technology leader in mobile enterprise solutions, HP was able to grow its market share to 37%. HP was also strongly positioned with its 1930 and 1940 iPaqs, with offers in some countries at below €300, which increased the vendor's share in retail.

Palm — Although 4Q03 saw Palm's market share decrease to 30%, the segment's pioneer remained the leading vendor for 2003 overall. Despite having the best-selling handheld model in the low-end Palm Zire, 2003 was Palm's third consecutive year of annual decline in shipments.

Medion — The German low-cost computing vendor has performed extremely well since it entered the handheld market last year. With the majority of devices selling through German Aldi stores, IDC believes Medion will find it difficult to sustain its current level of growth, unless it expands to new channels.

Sony — With shipments of 76,130 units, the consumer giant experienced a 3.5% decline in shipments during 4Q03 compared to the same period last year. Sony has been unable to build significantly on its strong entry into the handheld space. Part of this is due to the lack of a complete retail presence throughout Europe, but also because of Sony's focus on its high-end devices, while in reality its more basic models are more popular with consumers. Over 80% of its sales came from two entry-level models, the TJ25 and TJ35, introduced to address the Christmas retail market. The higher-priced UX50 clamshell product was introduced in 4Q03 to offer differentiation in the retail market.

Dell — With a limited mobile enterprise solutions offering and no retail presence, Dell will find it more difficult to compete with HP in handhelds than it currently does in PCs. Nevertheless, Dell continued to effectively utilize its strong notebook portfolio to offer bundled PDA deals to customers throughout Europe.

http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jhtml?containerId=pr2004_01_23_172835

[Jonathon Watkins]

Western Europe???

How about some US figures...:

Hey, they're just reporting the important parts of the world first! :wink: