Handhelds Show Strong Holiday Growth

Posted By: Ed Thursday, December 6, 2001 10:49:15 AM

With the slowing world economy and the recession in the U.S., demand for handhelds has dropped. This has made this holiday season especially critical for the handheld industry. So far, sales are strong. Figures from NPD Intellect on retail sales for the week ending November 23, which contains Thanksgiving and the official beginning of the holiday shopping season, show handheld sales up 103% in revenue and 98% up in unit sales from the previous week.

Palm was the big winner with a 166% increase in sales, going from $6.4 million to $17.1 million. Sales of the Palm Vx increased an astonishing 1178% from the previous week. (No, that's not a typo. 1178%)

Handspring Visor sales grow 9% with unit sales up 27%. This reflects recent price drops and holiday specials Handspring is offering to increase sales. These are increasing units sold but having a smaller effect on revenue.

Sony saw a 61% increase in revenue during this week with a 78% increase in unit sales. This was the first week the PEG-T415 was available.

Sales of Compaq's iPaq grew 50% while unit sales increased 46%.

These figures are in comparison with the previous week's, which itself saw strong growth. Unit sales of handhelds that week were up 20% from the previous week's and up more than 30% from the same week last year.

All three of the big Palm OS manufacturers are offering holiday deals to spur sales. Palm itself is offering a free 16 MB SD card with the purchase of a m500 series or m125. Handspring has reduced the Visor Deluxe to just $130, a $40 savings. They are also offering various freebies with a handheld purchase. Sony is offering a free 32 MB Memory Stick for those who buy a N or T series Clié. It is also offering a leather case to N series buyers

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I guess

peter167 @ 12/6/2001 10:56:22 AM #

Pocket PC sells two units in the first week and 3 units for the next week. That's a whopping 50% increase. Go PPC!

^_^

RE: I guess

I.M. Anonymous @ 12/6/2001 11:28:20 AM #

Right.

RE: I guess

I.M. Anonymous @ 12/6/2001 3:33:58 PM #

Hehe :)

Palm Vx

I.M. Anonymous @ 12/6/2001 11:52:10 AM #

The Palm Vx has decreased in price significantly - Office Depot is running it for $199, AND you get a free keyboard. With prices like this, it's sales are sure to increase--that's basic principles of Consumer Demand.

Meanwhile, Pocket PC is currently priced roughly 3 times that amount, with no extras included. Lots of features, but American consumers seek VALUE. You get more bang for the buck when you go for a $200 Vx with a keyboard, and unless you're a "techie" or other specialized user, it probably does most everything you need.

Bye, bye, Pocket PC...

RE: Palm Vx

I.M. Anonymous @ 12/6/2001 12:02:50 PM #

I agree. The only real difference between the M500 and the Vx is the expansion slot. The VX still looks better than the M100 series so its no wonder that its is selling well. Free keyboard, if it is the Stowaway, means that the Vx is going for 100 bucks. Wow.

RE: Palm Vx

I.M. Anonymous @ 12/6/2001 12:12:51 PM #

Vx ?? Oh,poor innocent rookies..

RE: Palm Vx

I.M. Anonymous @ 12/6/2001 12:13:35 PM #

Value for $ will do it each and every time

RE: Palm Vx

I.M. Anonymous @ 12/6/2001 1:09:07 PM #

>>"Vx ?? Oh,poor innocent rookies.."<<

What the hell does that mean? The Vx is still the most "elegant" looking Palm, still cooler than the m50x. Most people will find it useful--only those with major memory needs will absolutely HAVE to have the expansion slot. Granted, it's cool, but it's not necessary.

BTW, the keyboard from Office Depot is the Stowaway. I got mine on Monday. :)

RE: Palm Vx

I.M. Anonymous @ 12/6/2001 1:45:16 PM #

I picked up the Vx for $150 and received an additional $50 gift card from Office Max 2 weeks ago. It isn't the latest model but compared to my old III it's fantastic -- better screen, size, style and more memory. The price was definitely right.

RE: Palm Vx

I.M. Anonymous @ 12/6/2001 1:48:17 PM #

There do seem to be an increasing number of people who do have "major memory needs," making the Vx unviable. But you are definitely correct, the Vx is much better than an m100.

RE: Palm Vx

I.M. Anonymous @ 12/6/2001 6:00:04 PM #

It's hilarious that you people treat a PDA as a cult. Why does it always have to be US versus THEM bs?

It's always SONY vs PALM, PALM vs the world, HANDSPRING vs PALM, PocketPC vs PALM, etc... and variations thereof.

I'm very happy for you if your only outlet for religion is the ZEN of PALM cult. Hopefully, you'll be more organized and gain a tax-exempt status and become a legally recognized religion like ISLAM, CHRISTIANITY, Scientology, and Cult of Steve Jobs.

RE: Palm Vx

I.M. Anonymous @ 12/7/2001 1:33:23 AM #

It seems like everyone was running some kind of deal on the Vx over Thanksgiving. I got a great Staples deal on a Vx for $199, plus: targus thumbpad, USB sync cable, Targus leather case, Palm hard case, stylus/pen, car charger, and a Magellan GPS sled. All for FREE!!! I couldn't believe it.

Numbers?

skoty @ 12/6/2001 9:27:35 PM #

How about some real numbers to go along with these pseudo-numbers. All they are are percentages. 1000% increase from what? 100 units? 1000 units? Why were Handspring's numbers so low? Do they just suck? Where they already pretty high the previous week? Why where Pocket PC's numbers 50%? The only way to know if that was a real increase is to know where they started from. 50% of 2 units is 1. That sucks.