The market for mobile phones is increasingly encroaching on the market for handheld organisers, leading to a second straight year of decline in organiser shipments, according to a report from research firm IDC.
So-called "converged" mobile phones, which combine organiser functions with the ability to make phone calls, are taking customers away from the handheld device market, IDC said Monday. For 2003, worldwide shipments are expected to decline 8.4 percent, to 11.35 million units from 12.4 million units last year.
The market for organisers is expected to bounce back in 2004.
"There will always be a market for unconnected devices, and we could see a rebound of maybe a million units in 2004 over 2003 shipments, but growth and unit volumes have reached their ceiling," said Kevin Burden, analyst with IDC.
Last year was the first in which the organiser market experienced a decline in shipments. Many organiser companies have been working to add phone capabilities to their devices.
On the flip side, the market for converged mobile devices will see its strongest year of growth in 2003, according to IDC. About 13 million converged devices are expected to ship this year, with volumes expected to grow about 86 percent annually until 2007.
"Many of the negative issues associated with the converged mobile device market have been improved upon," said Burden.
Burden added that devices have become smaller and battery life has improved, but one of the key factors in sales growth has been price. Average prices have fallen low enough to appeal to the mass market, and the price difference between phones with and without organiser capabilities is shrinking, he said.
The average price for a converged device in 2003 is US$462, compared with US$578 in 2002. The average price for an organiser in 2003 is US$296, according to IDC.
