Research and analysis on the global information technology industry, Gartner Group says the use of PDA has increased and has the numbers to prove it.

According to Gartner worldwide PDA shipments totaled 3.6 million units in the second quarter of 2005, a 32 percent increase from the same period last year. The market is on pace to reach 15 million units shipped by the end of 2005, surpassing the record 13.2 million shipped in 2001.
 “The steady growth in the PDA market can be attributed to a combination of factors,” said Todd Kort, principal analyst in Gartner’s Computing Platforms Worldwide group. “Wireless PDAs are increasingly seen as an adjunct or alternative to notebook computers, while favorable exchange rates have enabled more Europeans to purchase PDAs at an attractive price. These factors have aided in the recovery of the slumping PDA market of 2002-2004.”
The Western European PDA market grew 94 percent to 1.3 million units in the second quarter of 2005. Western Europe accounted for 37 percent of worldwide shipments, up from 25 percent a year ago. PDA shipments in the United States totaled 1.4 million units, a 1.3 percent increase. Although the U.S. market was stagnant, according to Gartner this was the result of the continuing decline in Palm OS PDA shipments, and aging product lines among Microsoft licensees. PDA shipments in Asia/Pacific grew 24.7 percent with approximately 402,000 unit shipmens.
Research in Motion’s BlackBerry shipments grew 64.7 percent in the second quarter, as the company was the No. 1 ranked vendor in worldwide PDA shipments. Dell and HP’s market share continued to suffer, however, refreshes to their aging product lines are expected in the second half of 2005. Strong growth in shipments of T-Mobile’s Sidekick II and Pocket PC Phone Edition devices pushed Dell out of the top 5 ranking.
Microsoft maintained its position as the leading PDA operating system (OS) supplier, as it accounted for 46 percent of worldwide shipments in the second quarter of 2005. In the battle for the second position, RIM extended its lead over Palm OS with 23.2 percent of the market. Palm OS PDA shipments declined 40.9 percent from a year ago.