Worldwide PDA shipments during the second quarter of 2006 reached the highest second-quarter level on record, Gartner reports. Total shipments were 3.7 million units, a 2.7 percent increase from Q2 of 2005; however, end-user revenue fell by 4.1 percent to $1.38 billion, reflecting a lower average selling price.

“The average selling price of PDAs fell by six percent from one year ago, to $373, mostly due to aging product lines, the increasing impact of wireless operator subsidies, and relatively few new PDAs being launched thus far in 2006,” stated Todd Kort, principal analyst in Gartner's Computing Platforms Worldwide group.

According to Gartner, Windows Mobile “extended its lead over other PDA platforms,” accounting for 54.2 percent of PDA OS shipments. RIM OS came in second with 22.5 percent of the market, followed by Palm OS at 13.4 percent.

From a vendor perspective, RIM remained the top vendor, despite a decline of 1.1 percent, accounting for 22.5 percent of worldwide PDA shipments. RIM shipped nearly 1.3 million BlackBerry units in the second quarter, up 41 percent from one year ago, but 467,000 units were excluded from this analysis because Gartner classifies them as smartphones, not PDAs (see definition, below). Second-place Palm's PDA shipments dropped 27 percent from last year's second quarter, primarily because the company is focused on the Treo smartphone, according to Gartner — again, a matter of Gartner's definition of the term, PDA.

Varying PDA definitions, varying outlooks

Gartner's “best Q2 ever” finding for the PDA market stands in stark contrast to IDC's recent report that the PDA market experienced its tenth straight quarter of decline in Q2 of 2006. This difference of perspective appears to be due to the two analyst firms' differing viewpoints on what constitutes a PDA.

In Gartner's definition, a PDA is a “data-centric” handheld computer “designed for use with both hands.” Although PDAs may include cellular phone support for voice, they are “data-first, voice-second device[s],” according to Gartner. Using this definition, Gartner excludes “voice-centric” smartphones, such as Palm's Treo 700w and BlackBerry's 71xx, however.

Meanwhile, IDC's definition of handheld computers (aka PDAs) excludes all devices with built-in telephony, a constraint that results in IDC's much more pessimistic assessment of current PDA market trends.

“The ongoing integration of WAN technology into PDAs, and the marketing push of these devices by wireless operators has produced most of the growth compared to one year ago,” noted Gartner's Kort.

 
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