|
 |
Press Release
Palm Extends Leadership in Its Key Asia Pacific Markets In Asia Pacific Outside Japan and PRC
SANTA CLARA, Calif., July 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Year-end market data for 2000
released by IDC(1) shows that products based on the Palm OS(R) platform showed
unit growth in Asia Pacific outside Japan, which is not covered by IDC's
report, and People's Republic of China (PRC), where Palm currently has no
appointed distributor. IDC's data shows that products based on the Palm OS
platform had a share of 62.5 percent of the personal companion market across
these regions, compared to 1999 year-end data from IDC showing market share of
51.7 percent. This market share represents a unit growth of 237 percent for
Palm OS based devices. The personal companion category is classified in part by IDC as handheld
devices with pen-based input mechanisms. According to IDC, Palm(TM) branded products also showed unit growth in the
Asia Pacific markets in which Palm has appointed distributors for its products
-- Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the
Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand. Palm branded products achieved
year-on-year unit growth in these markets of 192 percent. Market share for
Palm branded products increased to 52.7 percent of the personal companion
market across these regions. IDC's findings mirror Palm's own: "Palm experienced growth in revenue and
shipments for its products in its key Asia Pacific markets during calendar
2000," said Craig Will, director, Asia Pacific and Japan, Palm, Inc. "This
reflects a conviction from consumers and corporations that Palm handhelds
enhance lifestyles and productivity." In the following Asia Pacific markets, Palm extended its lead with strong
year-on-year market share growth for Palm branded products:
<![CDATA[ -- Australia -- up to 67.6 percent from 57.7 percent
-- Hong Kong -- up to 61.9 percent from 56.5 percent
-- Singapore -- up to 68.3 percent from 59.4 percent
]]> Worldwide, products based on the Palm OS platform also lead the personal
companion market in the United States, Western Europe and Japan, with year-end
2000 market share of 81.6 percent(2), 80.4 percent(3) and 45.6(4) percent
respectively. "We're confident about the prospects for Palm in Asia Pacific," said Will.
"We have exciting new products, extraordinary brand positioning, the leading
market share in our key regions, and are backed by the power of the Palm
Economy, with more than 160,000 registered developers worldwide and
10,000 software applications written for the Palm OS platform. Palm and the
growing community of Palm OS licensees will continue to extend the Palm OS
platform into exciting new markets." "IDC's findings demonstrate the continued popularity of Palm handhelds in
Asia Pacific," said Cynthia Lim, analyst, IDC Asia Pacific. "We project
continued growth for the Palm OS platform as Palm and its OS licensees
introduce new products and technologies for consumers and corporations." <![CDATA[ Recent highlights for the company in Asia Pacific include the following:
-- Palm announced the Palm m500 series handhelds running Palm OS 4.0,
which includes 16-bit color, increased security and support for
telephony. The new product line features a Secure Digital (SD) and
MultiMediaCard expansion slot and enhanced mobile connectivity, in a
sleek form factor with Universal Connector and USB connectivity;
-- Palm added a second member to its Palm m100 family with the Palm
m105 handheld, which features added memory and software for email
and Internet connectivity;
-- Palm reached a milestone with the 10,000th third-party software
application for Palm OS handhelds. Palm believes that no other
handheld software platform has generated such a large number of
associated applications in such a short time;
-- The total number of handheld devices shipped by Palm to date is more
than 13.7 million and, based on the number of applications
available, the Palm OS is by far the leading handheld platform;
-- The growing interest in handheld and wireless devices in Asia
Pacific provide continued opportunities for the Palm Economy -- the
worldwide community of Palm OS licensees and more than 160,000 Palm
OS developers, more than 17,500 of whom are located in Asia Pacific
including Japan.
About Palm, Inc.
]]> Palm, Inc. is a pioneer in the field of mobile and wireless Internet
solutions and a leading provider of handheld computers, according to IDC
(December 2000). Based on the Palm OS(R) platform, Palm's handheld solutions
allow people to carry and access their most critical information with them
wherever they go. Palm(TM) handhelds address the needs of individuals,
enterprises and educational institutions through thousands of application
solutions. The Palm OS platform is also the foundation for products from Palm's
licensees and strategic partners, such as Franklin Covey, HandEra (formerly
TRG), Handspring, IBM, Kyocera, Sony, and Symbol Technologies. Platform
licensees also include Acer, Garmin, Nokia and Samsung. The Palm Economy is a
growing global community of industry-leading licensees, world-class OEM
customers, and more than 160,000 innovative developers and solution providers
that have registered to develop solutions based on the Palm OS platform. Palm
went public on March 2, 2000. Its stock is traded on the Nasdaq national
market under the symbol PALM. More information is available at www.palm.com.
(1) IDC, "Asia Pacific (ex Japan) Smart Handheld Device Market Analysis
and Forecast, 2000-2005," June 2001. (2) IDC, "Hand Check: The Smart Handheld Devices Market Forecast and
Analysis, 2000-2005," May 2001. (3) IDC, "Western European Smart Handheld Device and Smartphone Market
Forecast and Analysis," June 2001. (4) IDC, "Japan Smart Handheld Device Market Analysis and Forecast,
1999-2005," May 2001.
NOTE: Palm OS is a registered trademark, and Palm is a trademark of Palm,
Inc. or its subsidiaries.
SOURCE Palm, Inc.
Web site: http: //www.palm.com
CONTACT: Ronni Sarmanian of Palm, Inc., 408-878-2547, or ronni.sarmanian@corp.palm.com
|
|