| 16th January 2004 - While the PDA market continued
to struggle at the end of 2003, according to a recent
survey by In-Stat/MDR, this does not mean that the industry
is not moving forward, and that those interested in PDAs
are not interested in upgraded devices. Vendors continue
to introduce innovative new products with features and
functionality such as: the ability to use the device in
portrait and landscape mode for better document and Web
page viewing; integrated wireless connectivity such as
Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS: devices with more built-in software
applications; larger and higher quality displays; and
higher quality cameras. In-Stat/MDR conducted two PDA
surveys in order to learn more about what features and
applications current and future PDA users find most appealing,
as well as preferences for future devices.
Some of the key findings from the surveys include:
- Of the current PDA owner respondents, about 68%
indicated they would buy the same brand of PDA again.
This percentage was similar for both Palm OS PDA owners
and PPC PDA owners.
- Respondents indicated that they mainly use the expansion
slot for additional memory. However, of the current
PDA owners, nearly 50% did not use the expansion slot.
- About 18% of the respondents indicated they access
the Internet once to several times per day.
Respondants are also interested in having more features
integrated into their PDAs. Other topics included in
the survey include:
- Those who currently own a PDA and those who are
planning to purchase one
- Brand of PDA owned and brand loyalty for future
devices
- Importance of the PDA as a business and personal
tool
- Features and applications used for business and
personal purposes
- How often and for what reasons users access the
Internet with their PDA
- How the expansion slot is used, and what accessories
have users bought or are interested in purchasing
- What features users are interested in having integrated
into their PDA
- What respondents would be willing to spend on their
next PDA
This Market Alert is drawn from the In-Stat/MDR report,
"Insights
Into Consumer and Employee PDA Use: Survey Results and
Analysis", which contains the results of surveys
administered predominantly to In-Stat/MDR’s Technology
Adoption Panel (TAP) on PDAs. The survey questions queried
respondents about both personal and business use of
their PDA.
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