Personal digital assistants (PDAs) are expected to remain in use in SA for some years, despite the news that Sony is halting production of PDAs.
Sony announced today that it would stop producing PDAs for Japan in July, completing its withdrawal from a market hit by multifunctional mobile phones. Sony said last year that it would stop selling new handheld digital assistants outside Japan.
"The PDA market is being encroached by cellphones and other mobile devices that can offer similar functions, making it difficult for PDAs to maintain their position in the market," says a Sony spokesperson.
She adds that PDAs, as devices that largely specialise in organising schedules, have come under heavy pricing pressure.
Andrew Fraser, senior manager, promotion and brand enhancement of Sony in SA, notes that the phasing out of Sony PDAs does not affect South Africans, since the devices were not heavily marketed locally. He says the market became price-sensitive and competitive, and the emergence of smart phones and pocket PCs with more functionality edged PDAs out of the market.
Sony-Ericsson has already brought smart phones to market in SA. As the smart phone market gains, the PDA market shrinks proportionally, Fraser says.
All-in-one in demand
BMI-TechKnowledge analyst Mark Walker says inevitably, smart phones or other fully-converged devices will replace PDAs, but this "will not happen overnight". Walker sees PDAs remaining in use for another five to six years.
He feels that local adoption of multifunctional phones will grow, but initial demand will be slow due to the inevitably high price of the new handsets.
Sahara Computers marketing manager Gary Naidoo agrees that PDAs won't vanish overnight. While the PDA has always been seen as overpriced for the average South African user, it will still be around for some time yet, he says.
This, says Naidoo, is because even though phones have become much 'smarter', the PDA is still much more robust and boasts a lot more functionality and features.
"Even with the birth of the new smart phones, PDAs have much more storage capacity, functionality and even other features such as screen size to their advantage," he says.
Barry Baetu, MD of the Harmonic Group, which recently brought new PDAs to market, says ultimately, multifunctional mobile phones will replace PDAs in SA, particularly among business people seeking a single, efficient business tool.
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