The worldwide PDA market hit a new high in 2005, Gartner reports. Annual shipments were 14.9 million, up 19 percent over 2004, and surpassing the previous record of 13.2 million set in 2001. Additionally, Windows CE remained the top PDA operating system, accounting for nearly half of all PDA shipments, the market analyst firm said.

Linux continues to play a very small role in the traditional PDA market, as tracked by Gartner. However, Linux PDA pioneer Sharp continues to market new Zaurus models in Japan, and the OS is showing up in numerous non-traditional handhelds such as Internet tablets (Nokia 770), mobile chat devices (Zipit), handheld gaming gadgets (GamePark GP2X), digital photo storage devices (JoBo Giga Vu), and portable media players (IUbi PMP2010, Neuros Audio 442, Pontis MX2020, iRiver PMP-120, Archos PMA-400, FIC Vasilli, Zupera PMP, and others). Plus, Linux is widely forecast to be among the top two or three OSes used in advanced mobile phones.

A PDA by any other name?

Gartner's PDA market bullishness contrasts with recent reports by other market analysts, who have seen the PDA market as shrinking. However, the discrepency seems to result from differences in the way the term “PDA” is defined.

In Gartner's view, PDAs are “data-centric” handheld computers that weigh less than one pound and are designed for use with both hands. Additionally, they can include built-in WAN hardware for voice, but are “data-first, voice-second” devices. PDA/phones such as Windows Mobile Pocket PC phones are therefore included in Gartner's PDA numbers, but mobile phones with PDA features, such as Windows Mobile smartphones, are excluded.

Other analysts define PDAs as standalone devices that can include wired and wireless networking, but which do not include built-in WAN hardware. Based on this definition, IDC and other analysts have reported the PDA market to be in a state of steady decline (IDC) for the past two years, as users transition to Pocket PC phones and so-called converged devices (Canalys) including smartphones. One exception, IDC has noted, are PDAs with built-in GPS capabilities.

Gartner's 2005 PDA market findings

Windows CE remained the top PDA operating system in 2005, according to Gartner. The Microsoft OS accounted for 7.05 million PDA shipments — nearly half of 2005's total, and a 33 percent increase over 2004. Gartner reported one year ago that Windows CE had surpassed Palm OS in 2004, becoming the top PDA OS.

Annual Palm OS PDA shipments, meanwhile, declined 34 percent in 2005 to slightly under 3 million units.

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

Vendor	2005 shipments	2005 share%	2004 Shipments	2004 share%	2004 to 2005 Growth%
RIM	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
HP	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

Note: Individual Growth % is growth in market share
(Source: Gartner Dataquest — February 2006)

From a vendor perspective, Research In Motion (RIM) topped the PDA vendor list in 2005, accounting for 21.4 percent of total worldwide shipments, an increase of 47 percent from 2004. These numbers exclude some 858,000 BlackBerry smartphones shipped by RIM in 2005.

“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.”

Second-ranked Palm increased slightly to 2.77 million units, but lost significant market share, down 25 percent from 2004, Gartner said. These numbers exclude nearly 2 million Treo smartphones shipped by Palm 2005.

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

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