Worldwide personal digital assistant (PDA) shipments totaled 3.4 million units in the first quarter of 2005, a 25 percent increase from the same period last year, according to Gartner, Inc. This was the strongest first quarter the industry has experienced.

The average selling price (ASP) of PDAs increased 15 percent in the first quarter of 2005 compared to the first quarter of 2004. The ASP was US$406, which is the highest since Gartner began ASP estimates in 2000. Gartner analysts attributed the increased prices to the popularity of high-end wireless models.

"PDAs with integrated wireless local area network (LAN) or cellular capabilities accounted for approximately 55 percent of all PDAs shipped in the first quarter of 2005," said Todd Kort, principal analyst in Gartner's Computing Platforms Worldwide group. "This increase is primarily the result of the growing popularity of wireless e-mail, with users favoring larger displays and QWERTY keyboards that are operated with both hands."

Research in Motion's BlackBerry shipments grew 75.6 percent in the first quarter, as the company became the No. 1 ranked vendor in worldwide PDA shipments. palmOne PDA shipments declined 26.3 percent, and its market share fell to 18 percent, its lowest market share since it entered the market in 1996. Nokia's re-entry into the wireless PDA market with the 9300 and 9500 enabled it to move into the No. 4 position.

Worldwide: Preliminary PDA Vendor Shipment Estimates, 1Q05 (Units)
                                         1Q05            1Q04   1Q05 -
                                        Market           Market  1Q04
                                1Q05    Share    1Q04    Share  Growth
Company                       Shipments  (%)   Shipments  (%)     (%)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
RIM                            711,000   20.8   405,000   14.8   75.6
palmOne                        614,750   18.0   834,591   30.5  -26.3
HP                             601,352   17.6   575,853   21.0    4.4
Nokia                          340,000    9.9         -    0.0    N/A
Dell                           217,000    6.3   163,250    6.0   32.9
Others                         935,010   27.3   757,378   27.7   23.5
Total                        3,419,112  100.0 2,736,072  100.0   25.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Microsoft has become the top PDA operating system (Windows Mobile), as it accounted for 46 percent of worldwide shipments. RIM assumed the second position, as Palm OS slipped to the No. 3 ranking, due to Palm OS shipments declining 38.8 percent. "We expect that palmOne will be adding other operating systems and setting more of its own direction, while PalmSource is redirecting itself toward Linux and smartphones," Mr. Kort said.

Worldwide: Preliminary PDA Vendor Shipment Estimates by Operating System, 1Q05
                                         1Q05             1Q04  1Q05 -
                                        Market            Market 1Q04
                               1Q05      Share   1Q04     Share Growth
Company                      Shipments    (%)  Shipments   (%)    (%)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Windows CE                   1,573,062   46.0 1,100,008   40.2   43.0
RIM                            711,000   20.8   405,000   14.8   75.6
Palm OS                        684,750   20.0 1,119,714   40.9  -38.8
Symbian                        340,000    9.9         -    0.0    N/A
Linux                           27,300    0.8    34,800    1.3  -21.6
Others                          83,000    2.4    76,550    2.8    8.4
Total                        3,419,112  100.0 2,736,072  100.0   25.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Notes: Totals do not include smartphones, such as the Treo 650 and BlackBerry 7100, but include wireless PDAs, such as the iPAQ 6315 and Nokia 9300.

The Western European PDA market grew 84.3 percent to 1.3 million units in the first quarter of 2005, while PDA shipments in the United States also totaled 1.3 million units, a 5 percent increase. PDA shipments in Asia/Pacific declined 2.7 percent with approximately 352,000 unit shipments. In Japan, PDA shipments declined 21.3 percent with nearly 80,000 units shipped in the first quarter.