Smart Handheld Market to Reach USD26 Billion (3/30/2001)
Originally Published:20010319.
SALES OF HANDHELD IT and communications devices will grow at 48 percent per year over the next four years to reach USD26 billion per year by 2004, according to a report from market analyst International Data Corp. (IDC) in Framingham, Mass.
Worldwide sales of these devices - principally PDAs (personal digital assistants) and smart phones that support data applications - will grow from 12.9 million units in 2000 to 63.4 million units in 2004.
Technological progress, particularly in mobile multimedia and wireless areas, will continue at a rapid pace, and 2001 will prove to be the year when mobile access devices hit their stride, IDC said in a summary of the report.
The fastest-growing area of the market will be in smart wireless phones, according to IDC. From 480,000 units in 2000, shipments of smart phones will increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 164 percent to more than 23 million units per year by 2004.
PDAs currently dominate the smart handheld device market, representing 73 percent of worldwide shipments in 2000. Most PDAs ship with the Palm operating system, and Palm has dominated this space since its inception, according to IDC.
But new products from Microsoft and Research In Motion have softened Palm's grip on the market-leading position, and Palm is for the first time facing a solid threat to its dominance, IDC said.
IDC is a subsidiary of International Data Group, the parent company of the IDG News Service.
Handheld frenzy Sales of handheld IT and communications devices will grow at a remarkable 48 percent per year until it reaches $26 billion by 2004.
Worldwide sales of these devices projected to grow from 12.9 million units in 2000 to 63.4 million units in 2004 The fastest-growing area of the market will be in smart wireless phones, growing to 63.4 million units in 2004 PDAs currently dominate the smart handheld device market, representing 73 percent of worldwide shipments in 2000
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