Handheld sales dipped in second quarter: IDC

Handheld sales dipped in second quarter: IDC

Sales of handheld computers continued to decline steadily and fell by 21.4 percent for the first half of 2006 according to figures released by IDC. This is the tenth consecutive quarter that the sales have been falling down with the Q2 sales being down by 26.3 percent compared to last year.

Around 2.9 million units of hand held devices were shipped in the first half of this year compared to 3.7 million units last year. Officials at IDC do not think that this trend of lesser sales is going to stop in the near future and it may even flatten out before picking up once again, that too only if the makers were to discover new segments for marketing.

Ramon Llamas, an IDC analyst, said, "In order to do that, vendors must discover more market segments, relevant applications, and improved usability beyond personal information management". He added that several factors kept handheld sales relevant, “The inclusion of Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and GPS have kept handheld devices relevant, particularly for core users. However, more applications must be deployed to reach more users and eventually bring about a stabilizing effect to shipment activity.”
Palm remains the leader in handheld devices covering over 34.6 percent of the market with its immediate competitor, Hewlett-Packard being way behind at 20.6 percent. Other players include Dell, 9.7 percent; Mio, 6 percent; and Acer, 10.8 percent. Acer was the most hit with sales down by almost 70 percent.