Worldwide Q2 PDA shipments bounded up 32 percent year-over-year, to 3.6 million units, according to Gartner. Linux PDAs accounted for less than one percent of shipments, a figure likely to grow as PalmSource completes its transition to Linux, and as much-anticipated Linux PDAs such as Nokia's 770 ship.

Microsoft's Windows CE held the top spot in PDA OSes, Gartner said, with a 46 percent market share. The study includes Windows CE-based “Pocket PC Phones.”

The table below lists Gartner's figures for PDA OS shipments during Q2, 2005.

Preliminary Worldwide PDA Vendor Shipment Estimates by Operating System, 2Q05
Company	2Q05 Shipments	2Q05 Market Share (%)	2Q04 Shipments	2Q04 Market Share (%)	2Q05-2Q04 Growth (%)
Windows CE	1,653,638	45.7	1,006,923	36.6	64.2
Research In Motion	840,000	23.2	510,000	18.6	64.7
Palm OS	678,570	18.8	1,147,667	41.8	-40.9
Symbian	275,000	7.6	—	0.0	N/A
Linux	28,000	0.8	27,500	1.0	1.8
Others	140,000	3.9	56,710	2.1	147.6
Total	3,615,608	100.0	2,748,800	100.0	31.5
Note: Totals do not include smartphones, such as the Treo 650 and BlackBerry 7100, but include wireless PDAs, such as the iPAQ 6315 and Nokia 9300.

(Source: Gartner)

The Gartner figures do not include smartphones, such as those that run Microsoft's comprehensive Windows Mobile Smartphone software stack for high-volume licensees. Similarly, they do not include a number of smartphones based on Palm OS, such as the Treo 650, about half a million of which have reportedly been sold. Nor do they include Linux phones — a separate Gartner study earlier this summer found Linux to be rapidly surpassing both Microsoft Windows Mobile and Palm OS in the smartphone market, thanks largely to rapid uptake in Japan.

The Gartner figures do include WiFi-enabled PDAs, however, unlike a similar study from IDC last month that found PDA shipments down for the sixth consecutive quarter. In IDC's study, Research in Motion (RIM) was found to be the top PDA vendor, growing 64.7 percent over its Q2, 2004 share to reach a 23.2 percent share of the market. Additionally, RIM's Blackberry OS passed Palm OS for the first time to claim the number two PDA OS spot. Palm OS dropped nearly 41 percent over the same quarter last year, to an 18.8 percent, third-place share of the PDA market.

PalmSource, which maintains Palm OS, last month announced a reorganization that would shift all resources toward the company's pursuit of the Linux phone market, which it views as a greater near-term market opportunity than PDAs.

Even as PDA software vendors such as PalmSource and Trolltech aggressively pursue the mobile phone industry, the world's largest mobile phone vendor, Nokia, this summer announced plans to ship its first PDA product, based on Linux. The Nokia 770 Internet Tablet (pictured at right) is Nokia's first Linux product aimed at consumers, and its first entry into the PDA market. If early enthusiasm for the device holds up, it could well boost Linux to a comeback PDA OS market share.

Linux also powers a growing number of portable media players, such as the Archos PMA400, FIC Vasilli, iRiver PMP-1xx, JoboGiga Vu Pro, and Zupera mobile A/V player. Many of these — including the PMA400 — are based on Qtopia, and hence capable of running PDA-type applications, such as PIM (personal information management) software.

Gartner's figures probably do not include media players and other mobile devices that can be used as PDAs, since these devices are not really “data centric.” Gartner defines PDAs as “data-centric handheld computer[s] weighing less than one pound that [are] primarily designed for use with both hands.”

Todd Kort, a principal analyst with Gartner, said, “Wireless PDAs are increasingly seen as an adjunct or alternative to notebook computers, while favorable exchange rates have enabled more Europeans to purchase PDAs at an attractive price. These factors have aided in the recovery of the slumping PDA market of 2002-2004.”

Additional details can be found in Gartner's report, PDA Market Continues Rapid Growth, Up 32% in 2Q05.

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