May 15, 2007
Handheld market continues slide
By Matthew L. Brown
The market for handheld devices continued its 13-quarter slide during the first quarter, according to Framingham-based market research and analysis firm IDC.
IDC said vendors shipped just over 900,000 handheld devices in the first quarter, 36.3 percent fewer than in the previous quarter, and 40.6 percent fewer than in the first quarter of 2006.
According to IDC, the decrease coincides with an announcement by Dell that it is leaving the handheld device market.
Handheld devices are pocket-sized, pen-or-keypad operated devices compatible with desktop or laptop computers.
IDC said the handheld device market's decline is due to the rise of "converged mobile" devices, which unlike handheld devices, include telephone, email and PDA functions.
"The growing popularity of converged mobile devices combined with declining prices for laptop computers have put tremendous pressure on the handheld device market," said IDC analyst Ramon Llamas.
IDC said vendors shipped just over 900,000 handheld devices in the first quarter, 36.3 percent fewer than in the previous quarter, and 40.6 percent fewer than in the first quarter of 2006.
According to IDC, the decrease coincides with an announcement by Dell that it is leaving the handheld device market.
Handheld devices are pocket-sized, pen-or-keypad operated devices compatible with desktop or laptop computers.
IDC said the handheld device market's decline is due to the rise of "converged mobile" devices, which unlike handheld devices, include telephone, email and PDA functions.
"The growing popularity of converged mobile devices combined with declining prices for laptop computers have put tremendous pressure on the handheld device market," said IDC analyst Ramon Llamas.
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