Palm losing grip on handheld
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Palm Computer, the company that created the digital organiser market, has had a disappointing year in Western Europe, losing a substantial chunk of its market share to competitors.
Sales of handheld computers in Europe – in contrast to declining shipments of traditional PCs – increased by a sturdy 8% during 2001, according to the latest figures from analyst company IDC. It was consumer sales, rather than substantial corporate buying, that drove this growth.
Palm Computer, however, which dominates the market for handhelds, had a disappointing year, ceding a substantial chunk of its market share to competitors. IDC says that Compaq, Hewlett-Packard, Nokia, and Casio all increased their market share through aggressive price-cutting and advertising campaigns, at the expense of ill-fated Palm.
Despite a 27% decline in shipments for the year, Palm remained the clear leader overall. Even accounting for this plunge in shipments it shipped twice as many units as nearest rival, Compaq.
Total units shipped in Western Europe declined 30.2% in the final quarter, but this was deceptively low as a result of mass shipments in the corresponding quarter of 2000.
All vendors had a poor fourth quarter in 2001, in comparison to their full-year results. Shipments for Casio fell 6% in the last quarter, but results for the full year were more favourable, growing 107%. Compaq, the second-place vendor, experienced the fastest growth rate, increasing shipments 179% over the full year.
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