Mobile devices on the increase

Handheld sales grow strongly in second quarter of 2006, says Gartner

PDA sales reached a record high of 3.7 million in the second quarter of 2006, according to analayst Gartner.

Rising sales of palm-top devices is being attributed to the continuing growth of wireless hotspots.

A six per cent drop in the average price of PDAs has also contributed to strong sales growth, says Gartner principal analyst Todd Kort.

'The average selling price of PDAs fell to $373 (£196), mostly due to aging product lines, the increasing impact of wireless operator subsidies and relatively few new PDAs being launched thus far in 2006,' he said.

The Blackberry continued to dominate the market, taking 22.5 per cent of the overall market in the second quarter of 2006, with Palm and HP devices continuing to suffer from declining sales.

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Further Reading:

• IT budgets fail to benefit from revenue growth
• Wireless networks growing in popularity
• Thin-client hardware sees strongest growth since 2000