Worldwide PDA Shipments Reach Record Level in 2005

Worldwide personal digital assistant (PDA) shipments totaled a record 14.9 million units in 2005, a 19 percent increase from 2004, according to Gartner, Inc. The 2005 results topped the previous record of 13.2 million PDAs shipped worldwide in 2001.

Research In Motion (RIM) became the No. 1 PDA vendor based on worldwide shipments in 2005 (see first chart) as it accounted for 21.4 percent of total shipments. Its shipments in 2005 increased 47 percent from 2004. These results do not include an estimated 858,000 BlackBerry smartphones shipped in 2005, which Gartner classifies separately because of their voice-centric design.

"RIM does not appear to be losing much momentum despite its legal problems and the threat of an injunction," said Todd Kort, principal analyst in Gartner's Computing Platforms Worldwide group. "Generally, BlackBerry users are staying put because of the high cost of switching, lack of suitable alternative devices, and the low probability of BlackBerry service being shut down."

Worldwide: Preliminary PDA Vendor Shipment Estimates, 2005 (Units)


                                    2005                2004    2004-
                                    Market              Market  2005
                          2005      Share     2004      Share   Growth
Company                 Shipments    (%)    Shipments    (%)     (%)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Research In Motion      3,193,000    21.4   2,178,000    17.4    46.6
Palm                    2,773,025    18.6   3,726,172    29.8   -25.6
Hewlett-Packard         2,264,666    15.2   2,668,627    21.3   -15.1
Nokia                   1,010,000     6.8     250,000     2.0   304.0
T-Mobile                  812,600     5.5     191,400     1.5   324.6
Others                  4,839,701    32.5   3,499,314    28.0    38.3
Total                  14,892,992   100.0  12,513,513   100.0    19.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Notes: Totals do not include smartphones, such as the Treo 650 and
BlackBerry 7100, but include wireless PDAs, such as the iPAQ 65xx and
BlackBerry 8700.
Source: Gartner Dataquest (February 2006)

Palm shipped 2.77 million PDAs in 2005, down 25 percent from 2004 shipments. These results exclude Palm's Treo smartphone shipments of 1.95 million units in 2005.

Palm regained the PDA market lead in the fourth quarter of 2005 with 1.04 million units shipped, reflecting the traditionally strong consumer PDA sales associated with the holiday season. "Consumer sales in the fourth quarter enabled Palm to surpass RIM and HP, but we expect RIM will recapture the lead in the first quarter of 2006 as consumer PDA purchases subside," Mr. Kort said. "Palm's PDA sales are being cannibalized by its Treo smartphones, which are expected to surpass Palm's PDA shipments in 2006."

Worldwide: Preliminary PDA Vendor Shipment Estimates, 4Q05 (Units)


                                     4Q05               4Q04    4Q04-
                                     Market             Market  4Q05
                            4Q05     Share     4Q04     Share   Growth
Company                  Shipments    (%)   Shipments    (%)     (%)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Palm                     1,037,680    23.5  1,226,525    29.9   -15.4
Research In Motion         780,000    17.7    698.000    17.0    11.7
Hewlett-Packard            660,463    15.0    869,000    21.1   -24.0
T-Mobile                   305,000     6.9     96,000     2.3   217.7
Mio Technology             220,214     5.0     83,645     2.0   163.3
Others                   1,405,569    31.9  1,135,788    27.6    23.8
Total                    4,408,926   100.0  4,108,958   100.0     7.3
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Notes: Totals do not include smartphones, such as the Treo 650 and
BlackBerry 7100, but include wireless PDAs, such as the iPAQ 65xx and
BlackBerry 8700.
Source: Gartner Dataquest (February 2006)

Microsoft Windows CE was the No. 1 PDA operating system (OS) in 2005 as 7.05 million PDAs were loaded with the OS, up 33 percent from 2004 shipments of 5.28 million units. Palm OS PDA shipments declined 34 percent to 2.96 million units in 2005.

Gartner defines a PDA as a data-centric handheld computer weighing less than one pound that is primarily designed for use with both hands. These devices use an open market operating system supported by third-party applications that can be added into the device by end users. They offer instant on/off capability and synchronization of files with a PC. A PDA may offer WAN support for voice, but these are data-first, voice-second devices.

Additional information is available in the Gartner report "Dataquest Alert: Record 14.9 Million PDAs Shipped in 2005, Up 19 Percent Over 2004."