Led by strong growth by Research In Motion`s (RIM`s) BlackBerry shipments, worldwide personal digital assistant (PDA) shipments increased 6.6% in 2004, according to preliminary research results from Gartner.
[TABLE]The international research firm says an increased average selling price (ASP) drove worldwide PDA revenue to a record $4.3 billion (R20.1 billion) in 2004, a 16.7% increase from the previous year. In the fourth quarter of 2004, the ASP of PDAs reached $353 (R2 118), up 9.4% from 2003.
"The PDA market has shifted from unconnected organisers overwhelmingly purchased by consumers, to a market in which 44% of the devices shipped in 2004 offered integrated wireless area network and/or wireless LAN connectivity," says Todd Kort, principal analyst at Gartner`s Computing Platforms Worldwide group.
HP PDAs had an estimated ASP of $430, producing end-user revenue of $1.132 billion in 2004, which accounted for 26% of PDA revenue. However, RIM experienced the largest growth rate on a revenue and shipment basis.
"A major factor in RIM`s recent success has been its ability to rapidly add many new carrier partners, expanding its geographical reach," Kort says.
Approximately 20% of RIM`s fourth quarter shipments were in Europe, and RIM is poised to become the world`s leading PDA vendor, in units and revenue, in 2005, says Gartner.
PalmOne continued to ship more PDAs than any other vendor in 2004, but it experienced a 10.7% decline in worldwide PDA shipments in 2004 despite Sony`s retreat from the market.
"PalmOne has been increasingly focusing on the smartphone market, and about 1.1 million Treos were shipped in 2004," Gartner says.
Gartner does not include voice-centric device shipments in the PDA results.
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