Pocket PCs Outsell Palm For First TimePocket PCs Outsell Palm For First Time

PDAs based on Microsoft's mobile platform outsold those based on the Palm OS for the first time in the third quarter of 2004, according to a study released Friday by Gartner, Inc. In addition, overall sales of PDAs increased 13.6 percent, the first significant increase in several quarters.

Almost 1.4 million PDAs based on the Windows CE platform shipped worldwide during the third quarter, according to the study. Windows CE is the kernel from which various mobile platforms, such as the Pocket PC platform, are derived.

By contrast, 850,800 Palm OS PDAs shipped in the last quarter, according to the study. That gave the Microsoft platform a 48.1 percent market share compared to a 29.8 percent for Palm-based handhelds. In the third quarter of last year, almost 1.2 million Palm OS handhelds shipped and only slightly more than one million Windows CE units shipped.

The study included only handhelds and not smartphones. The analyst in charge of the study attributed the shift to the fact that palmOne is switching its emphasis away from PDAs to smartphones such as its Treo.

"A decline in Palm OS shipments was expected in the third quarter of 2004, but not of this magnitude," Todd. Kort, a principal analyst for Gartner, said in a statement. said. "The company is pouring the vast majority of its resources into its smartphone business. A reduction in the number of PDA models palmOne offers is expected in 2005."

Research In Motion's (RIM's) popular line of BlackBerry devices also surged in the just-completed quarter, selling 565,000 units worldwide for a 19.8 percent market share. In the same quarter last year, RIM sold only 124,000 of the units for a 4.9 percent market share.

Among specific vendors, palmOne held on to a narrow lead in the last quarter with sales of 749,000 units for a 26.2 percent market share. However, Hewlett-Packard, which sells Pocket PC iPAQs, was close behind with sales of 692,000 units for a 24.2 percent market share.

Kort indicated that the overall increase in PDA sales is at least partially attributable to increased demand for always-on e-mail devices such as those offered by RIM.