Worldwide Handheld Device Shipments Reach 5.5 Million Units in 2006, Down 28.5% From 2005 Levels, According to IDC.FRAMINGHAM, Mass. -- The worldwide handheld device market slumped further at the close of 2006, despite several notable vendors posting seasonal increases in shipments. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. IDC's Worldwide Handheld QView, vendors shipped 5.5 million units in 2006, down 28.5% from the 7.6 million units shipped in 2005. For the quarter ending December 31, 2006, vendors shipped a total of 1.5 million units, or 35.9% less than the 2.3 million units shipped during 4Q05. "The handheld devices market is under intense pressure from networked mobile devices," says Ramon Llamas, research analyst with IDC's Mobile Devices Technology and Trends team. "Features found on handheld devices, including personal information management (PIM (1) (Protocol Independent Multicast) A multicast routing protocol endorsed by the IETF. Used in conjunction with an existing unicast routing protocol, it comes in two flavors: Dense Mode (PIM-DM) is used when recipients in the target group are in a concentrated ) functionality, multimedia, and Bluetooth connectivity have also been included on converged mobile devices (commonly known as smartphones) and high-end phones. The proliferation proliferation /pro·lif·er·a·tion/ (pro-lif?er-a´shun) the reproduction or multiplication of similar forms, especially of cells.prolif´erativeprolif´erous pro·lif·er·a·tion n. of notebook computers A laptop computer that weighs in a range from five to seven pounds. The term originated when laptops were routinely more than 10 pounds, and those that became lighter were placed in a special "notebook" category. In practice, notebook computer and laptop computer are synonymous. with embedded Inserted into. See embedded system. wireless WiFi has also allowed users to remain connected while on the go, further reducing the demand for handheld devices. Finally, GPS devices have gained momentum in the marketplace, and also negatively impacted handheld devices. "Handheld vendors have expanded their portfolios to include networked devices, and put greater focus on the latter," adds Llamas. "In some cases, a vendor has put more resources to developing its converged mobile device portfolio while its handheld device portfolio has remained largely unchanged. In other cases, a vendor's total shipments for handheld devices have been less than for its personal navigation devices A Personal Navigation Device (PND) is a portable electronic product which combines a positioning capability (such as GPS) and navigation functions. The earliest PND were hand-held GPS units (circa mid 1980s) which were capable of displaying the user's location on an ." Looking ahead, IDC expects this downward trend to continue in 2007. Top Five Handheld Device Vendors Palm. Palm took top honors in the handheld device market, capturing the clear majority of shipments both for the quarter and the year. However, the company was not immune to a year-on-year shipment decline. Palm has not introduced a new handheld device to its portfolio, relying on its Z22 and TX devices released in Q3 2005. These join their older companions, the Tungsten tungsten (tŭng`stən) [Swed.,=heavy stone], metallic chemical element; symbol W; at. no. 74; at. wt. 183.85; m.p. about 3,410°C;; b.p. 5,660°C;; sp. gr. 19.3 at 20°C;; valence +2, +3, +4, +5, or +6. E2 and the Palm Life Drive. HP. HP held steady as the number two vendor worldwide both for the quarter and for the year. HP managed to keep its quarterly decline well above the industry average, but its full-year decline was slightly below the industry average. Even though its shipments decreased, it improved its market share nearly five percentage points from a year ago due to market contraction. HP augmented its product portfolio with the addition of its iPAQ rx 5915 Travel Companion, optimized for GPS capability, as well as its iPAQ hx2795 Mobile Media Companion, positioned for multimedia usage. Mio. Of the leading vendors, Mio was the only company to post both a quarterly and full-year increase in shipments, and just edged past Dell to lay claim to the number three position worldwide during 4Q06. The majority of the company's devices were shipped into Europe and Asia, regions that have been welcoming of its devices in the past. However, Mio's presence in the Americas was still lacking. From a feature perspective, Mio's P550, P350, and A201 models all include a GPS receiver, offering further functionality beyond personal information management and organization. Dell. Dell finished the fourth quarter just slightly behind Mio, but in terms of full-year shipments, Dell finished the year ahead of Mio. From both a fourth quarter and a full-year perspective, Dell's shipment volumes declined greater than the industry average. Dell has standardized standardized pertaining to data that have been submitted to standardization procedures. standardized morbidity rate see morbidity rate. standardized mortality rate see mortality rate. on its Axim X51 series and continues to offer it to both consumer and business customers. In addition to offering its own handheld devices on its website, Dell also offers a lineup of third party devices. Acer. While there is some clarity on the rankings of the first four vendors, several vendors, including ETEN ETEN Explicit Transport Error Notification ETEN European Teacher Education Network and Sharp, came close to grabbing the number five spot. This quarter, Acer rounded out the top five, but had the largest year-on-year Q4 decrease of the top five vendors during 4Q06. In addition, Acer did not rank as the number five vendor for 2006. That honor went to Sharp. Top Five Handheld Device Vendors, Shipments, and Market Share, 4Q 2006 - Preliminary [TABLE OMITTED] Source: IDC Worldwide Handheld QView, February 8, 2007 Top Five Handheld Device Vendors, Shipments, and Market Share, FY 2006- Preliminary [TABLE OMITTED] Source: IDC Worldwide Handheld QView, February 8, 2007 Notes: * Vendor shipments are branded shipments and exclude OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) The rebranding of equipment and selling it. The term initially referred to the company that made the products (the "original" manufacturer), but eventually became widely used to refer to the organization that buys the products and sales for all vendors. * Handheld devices are pocket-sized, either pen or keypad-centric, and are capable of synchronizing synchronizing, n a technique that a therapist uses to coordinate his or her breath with that of the client; builds trust and establishes relationship. with desktop or laptop computers. Handheld devices are designed to access and manage data including office documents, multimedia, and games. * Handheld devices do not include telephony but may include wireless capabilities that enable Internet access See how to access the Internet. and text communication. These devices feature evolved operating systems Operating systems can be categorized by technology, ownership, licensing, working state, usage, and by many other characteristics. In practice, many of these groupings may overlap. or applications environments such as the Palm OS, Windows Mobile The Windows platform from Microsoft for handheld devices, including PDAs, cellphones and Portable Media Centers. See Pocket PC, Pocket PC Phone Edition, Smartphone and Portable Media Center. Pocket PC, Linux, or other proprietary platforms with the ability to download, run applications, and store user data beyond their required PIM capabilities. IDC's Worldwide Handheld QView provides device vendors, software developers, service providers, and component suppliers with timely and accurate information on the worldwide handheld market. The program provides quarterly measurements of worldwide unit shipments and vendor market shares. To purchase this document, call IDC's sales hotline at 508-988-7988 or email sales@idc.com. About IDC IDC is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services advisory services advisory services provided to the public, in their capacity as owners and managers of animals, are an important part of veterinary science. They may be provided by government bureaux, by commercial companies who deal in pharmaceuticals or animals or animal , and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. IDC helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community make fact-based decisions on technology purchases and business strategy. Over 850 IDC analysts in 50 countries provide global, regional, and local expertise on technology and industry opportunities and trends. For more than 42 years, IDC has provided strategic insights to help our clients achieve their key business objectives. IDC is a subsidiary of IDG IDG International Data Group IDG Integrated Drive Generator IDG Installation Design Guide IDG Internet Discussion Group IDG Inset Dielectric Guide IDG International Dangerous Goods (mail, shipping) , the world's leading technology media, research, and events company. You can learn more about IDC by visiting www.idc.com. All product and company names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. |
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