PDA's are one of the fastest selling consumer devices in history. More than 9 million of these hand-held computers have been sold. Manufacturers of the PDA industry include: 3com, Casio, Compaq, Handspring, HP, Microsoft, Palm, Philips, and Sony. Palm is the leader in this industry with Sony, HP, and Microsoft not far behind. Palm’s revenue for the quarter ending Feb 2003 was $209 million (www.hoovers.com). Sony, a competitor of Palm had revenues of 13.7 million, but this is due to their sales of other products other products as well as PDA’s. PDA’s are just one segment inside of their industry (www.hoovers.com). Many other companies are breaking into the market. Competition means more fea

PDA’s might be useful to other professionals as well. For example, many health care professionals need to keep track of patient information quickly and efficiently. They can note patient information promptly with a PDA. Truck drivers on the road can utilize PDAs while in freuquent communication with their companies and homes. They can also use PDA’s to check emails, keep track of expenses, and make maps and schedules.

The business market will serve the same purpose to PDA’s that Gamers’ serve to PC’s today. Video Gamers place big demands on computer hardware and software to be ever more powerful. With each new game released there is the assumption that the next one will be more graphical and more sophisticated, involving the player evermore into a visual fantasy world. This takes a big toll on computer hardware and requires that manufacturers produce evermore-powerful hardware in order to keep up with the latest software games. The business world will serve the same purpose to the PDA world. With their extensive customer databases, and their data processing that everyday is becoming more and more client side intensive, they will force PDA manufacturers to embrace their needs and develop faster hardware that can meet their demands. According to the META group who is a leading provider of information technology research, advisory services, and strategic consulting, “Companies already have 10 to 15 percent of their workers using PDA's.” The META group also goes on to say that by 2006 when costs of the average PDA are expected to drop in the $200-$300 range roughly half of the employees of any company that is even somewhat dependent on IT will be using PDA’s (http://advisor.com).

Some topics in this essay:
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