Comments on: Some Facts About PDA Owners

According to a study by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), PDA owners tend to be wealthy, highly educated and mostly under the age of 55. Slightly over half are men. Over 93% have Internet access at home, while only 58% of the general adult population does.

Only 53% of respondents purchased the PDA for themselves, 27% received it as a gift, while another 20% received it from their company. Most people who buy their own PDA said it was to ”make life easier,” while only 6% said it was because they wanted the newest technology.

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Only half?

GrouchoMarx @ 2/24/2001 11:22:27 PM #

11% of PDA owners have a wireless modem, but only half of those have a service provider that lets them use it? Why would that other half spend the money on a wireless modem (still not cheap) and then not use it?

--GrouchoMarx

RE: Only half?

I.M. Anonymous @ 2/25/2001 10:14:21 AM #

Maybe they are Palm VII or VIIx owners that drop the Palm.net service.

RE: Only half?

I.M. Anonymous @ 2/26/2001 12:02:00 PM #

I know a guy who dropped the service for his VII because he did not use it for anything that would justify the cost. I assume (based on the guy I know and the statistics above) that half users got wireless as a toy and dropped the service after the novelty wore off.

And that's not all!

I.M. Anonymous @ 2/25/2001 5:29:37 PM #

Our teeth are 17% whiter too!

[ No Subject ]

Bond @ 2/25/2001 8:17:58 PM #

This is because only half of them are spies.

This study is biased and meaningless...

I.M. Anonymous @ 2/26/2001 7:54:35 AM #

Anybody who has taken even an introductory epidemiology and statistics course can see more problems with this study than you can shake a stick at.

This is all I could find on their study methodology on their web site (CE.org):

{{{The ”PDA Owner Profile” study was conducted via Internet Web form to a sample of 649 adult PDA owners during December 2000. The complete study is available free to CEA member companies.}}}

I'm not a CEA member company, so I guess that's all I'll ever see. Still, the mere fact that the study was conducted via the Internet makes it biased in favor of people who utilize technology. This is known as "sampling bias." Also, self-reporting studies (I'm assuming that filling out the web form was voluntary) are virtually always flawed due to referral bias. Futhermore, given the size of the current PDA user base, a sample of less than 650 people is really far too small to give the study any power.

As an further example of bad statistics, did you know that fully 50% of all American high school students scored below the mean on standardized exams?

RE: This study is biased and meaningless...

I.M. Anonymous @ 2/26/2001 5:39:03 PM #

Ah yes, but how close to the mean did the average high school student score?

RE: This study is biased and meaningless...

I.M. Anonymous @ 2/26/2001 10:55:27 PM #

The web offers a cost-effective and fast-return (in terms of gathering data) method to conduct a large survey. The Sampling bias does not necessarily apply here given that the survey was administered via the Internet, not necessarily the same method that was used to recruit participants.

erg, I cah see it comming...

I.M. Anonymous @ 2/26/2001 11:08:21 AM #

The PDA Divide...

what is the scenario?

Batiscafo @ 2/27/2001 9:52:13 AM #

iis it a report or propaganda ?

Wealthy?

Eric @ 2/27/2001 1:02:14 PM #

I am an avid PDA user, and I must say that I am not wealthy! I use my PDA to stay organized, and to stay current on the news.

PDA users profile

I.M. Anonymous @ 2/27/2001 9:32:41 PM #

The statistics quoted broadly agree with a study I made in early 2000 on a large PDA retailer with both online and offline presence. The sample sizes taken in this study were 794 and 850 respectively. Although income levels were not measured, generally a very high proportion held jobs as professionals, managers, executives or businessmen. Virtually all users in both samples examined are internet users and have access to a computer either at home or in the office. I hope these observations are useful. My name and the retailer's name has to be withheld for confidentiality reasons.

RE: PDA users profile

I.M. Anonymous @ 4/30/2001 5:00:02 AM #

I'm doing a study on business models and their viability in the PDA/HPC/ handheld device space. I believe your study would contain useful information that I can benefit from. Would it be possible to share more details of your study with me? Thanks in advance.