Palmtop Sales to Outpace Sales of Handhelp PCs

According to research done by Cahners In-Stat Group, the market for palmtops (pocket-sized devices using touch-screen interfaces) will soar an average of 37% through 2004. By comparison, sales of handheld PCs -- those using a keyboard interface and either Win CE or a proprietary OS -- will grow a relatively sluggish 19% in the same time period. By 2004, annual palmtop shipments will dwarf handhelds: 14.1 million units to 4.9 million.
In-Stat credits the difference to the relative size and weight of handhelp PCs over palmtops. If someone is willing to carry around a two-pound handheld, they would probably be willing to carry around a four-pound laptop to be free of the stripped down OS and applications.