Monday, December 1 2003
According to figures just released by market researchers, GfK, PalmOne has now sold more than 5 million handhelds in Europe.
The company claims it is the first vendor to do so – surpassing even Psion - and these figures don't even include sales achieved by Handspring -- which is now part of Palm.
It also claims a 38 per cent share of the handheld market (source GfK: Small Organizing Solutions Report - August - September 2003) and has shipped more than twice as many handhelds in Europe as its nearest competitor, according to rival researchers, Canalys.
Chris Jones, a senior analyst with Canalys, said: "It is the only vendor whose offering spans the handheld, wireless handheld and smartphone segments, and this puts it in a good position to address the vastly differing needs of consumers, small businesses and large enterprises."
The figures are significant as Nokia traditionally tops these sales leagues. A late starter in Europe, Palm is at last finding partners to create Palm OS based GSM smartphones such as the Xplore G18, from GSL. It also explains why there are persistent rumours that Nokia might try to break into the handheld market.
The chances of Nokia doing so by tying up with Psion now look highly remote.
Source:
http://www.theinquirer.net
