HP takes EMEA mobile device market
lead in poor quarter
- Strong performance by Sony helps
keep Palm OS on top
Reading, UK - Wednesday, July 24th
2002 - for immediate release
- Total EMEA mobile device
shipments in Q2 2002 down 26% on Q2 2001
- HP takes lead, with 30% unit
share; Palm in second, with 29%
- In shipment value terms, HP's
€99m is double Palm's €49m
- Sony has best ever quarter, and
is only top-five vendor to show growth
- Heavily promoted integrated
wireless devices are yet to make an impact
EMEA Q2 2002 - highlights from the
Canalys research
Overall shipments were down 26% on
the same quarter one year ago, making Q2 2002 the worst quarter in
absolute terms for more than two years. The combined HP/Compaq
shipment figure was down 28%, but this was in comparison to the
exceptionally good quarter the iPAQ enjoyed one year previously.
HP's performance was still good enough to take the top spot from
Palm. Of the top five vendors, only Sony, in fifth, showed unit
growth (44%), with its innovative, consumer-focused take on the Palm
OS handheld platform leading to a doubling of its market share.
Three of the top five vendors are using Palm OS in their mobile
devices. Palm itself actually increased its share to 29% from 27% a
year ago, but this was down sequentially on the 34% it enjoyed in Q1
2002.
Overall, with just over half a
million units shipping in EMEA, the quarter was disappointing, but
exhibited a fairly typical seasonal decline from the Q1 2002 figure
of 679,000. Canalys analyst Andy Buss observed that: "Economic
uncertainty has meant that companies have continued to put mobile
device deployments on hold, while many in the important early
adopter segment will be waiting for the promised new Pocket PC
models based on Intel's XScale processor, and Palm's next wave of
devices due towards year end. The mass consumer market can only be
drawn in by lower prices and simpler propositions - people need to
be persuaded that these devices will actually do something for them,
so far they remain unconvinced."
The quarter did see the
introduction of some new devices, notably the heavily advertised O2
xda wireless handheld and Nokia 7650 camera phone, but these are yet
to make a significant impact on the market.
"Both of these integrated devices
shipped for only a few weeks in the quarter, and then only in a
limited number of countries," said Canalys senior analyst Chris
Jones. "We expect to see a spike in 7650 shipments into the channel
next quarter, but an average unsubsidised price in excess of €800 is
simply too high for the consumer segment at which it is aimed and
this is bound to constrain sales. The operators' inconsistent MMS
readiness and pricing isn't exactly laying a solid foundation for
adoption either."
Canalys maintains that wireless
handhelds will remain a difficult sell at the best of times. "And
these are certainly not the best of times," Jones added. "The xda
will struggle at the high price points it currently occupies. A
Bluetooth handheld-plus-phone, two-device solution will be a better
option for more people, especially while the market is still
immature and going through so many changes."
This view is backed up by the
sustained performance of the integrated Bluetooth iPAQ. For
retailers, wireless handhelds are a lengthy sale, with too little
return to justify the effort.
Palm OS managed to retain its lead
over Windows CE in the operating system race, but with only 2%
between them, they have never been closer. Symbian's share has moved
little over the last three quarters. The Nokia 7650 will drive this
forward in the coming months, but for Symbian to remain a credible
platform attractive to developers it will need to appear on many
more products than have currently been launched or announced.
Analyst photos
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