European Mobile Device Market Grew 25% in 1Q04

A new report on the European Mobile device market from IDC confirms the positive growth trend in the region in the recent EMEA report. IDC shows that palmOne regained the lead in the European standalone handheld market.

The market for European mobile devices grew by 25.6% compared to the same period last year, driven by sustained smart phone volumes and continued growth for handheld device vendors. Standalone handheld device vendors recorded growth of 9%, as GPS bundles failed to record the same success in retail stores as in 4Q03 and lower margins forced at least one vendor to withdraw from the handheld market.

Converged device volumes continued to grow by around 35% during the quarter, although recorded growth was slower than expected. The business market displayed a greater desire for mobile solutions, reflected in the continued growth of vendors such as RIM with its integrated end-to-end email and personal information management solution. However, despite strong demand and healthy volumes, Nokia and Sony Ericsson failed to execute as efficiently as in previous quarters.

The market for standalone handheld devices was limited to single-digit growth as vendors focused on managing channel inventory, rather than selling-in higher volumes of devices. The entry-level handheld market continued to witness shrinking margins.

"With retailers recognizing that PDAs are no longer the "in vogue" consumer electronic product, a growing number of handheld device models now vie for a dwindling amount of shelf space. Increased competition and pricing pressure will most affect those vendors that continue to deliver an uninspired product mix and may lead to greater consolidation and market withdrawals," said Tim Mui, senior analyst for Mobile Devices at IDC.

palmOne managed to regain the lead of the standalone handheld market, boosted by smart phone Treo 600 shipments of just under 20,000 units. palmOne managed to increase its overall average unit price with Tungsten handheld devices representing a higher proportion of the mix than in previous quarters at the expense of the low-end market leader, the Palm Zire.

IDC European Mobile Device Vendor Shares, 1Q04

Rank	Vendor	1Q04	% Share	1Q03	% Share	Growth
1	Nokia	705,020	42.8%	519,050	39.6%	35.8%
2	PalmOne	216,500	13.1%	201,600	15.4%	7.4%
3	HP	196,080	11.9%	142,700	10.9%	37.4%
4	Sony Ericsson	146,500	8.9%	136,750	10.4%	7.1%
5	Siemens	78,215	4.7%	1,900	0.1%	4016.6%
	Others	304,390	18.5%	309,020	23.6%	-1.5%
	Total	1,646,705	100.0%	1,311,020	100.0%	25.6%
Source: IDC, 2004

IDC European Mobile Device Operating System Shares, 1Q04

Operating System	1Q04	% Share	1Q03	% Share	Growth
Symbian	941,235	57.2%	655,950	50.0%	43.5%
Windows Mobile	393,105	23.9%	345,450	26.3%	13.8%
Palm OS	254,675	15.5%	259,710	19.8%	-1.9%
Other	57,690	3.5%	49,910	3.8%	15.6%
Total	1,646,705	100%	1,311,020	100%	25.6%
Source: IDC, 2004

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