Seems like handhelds, PDAs, Palms, whatever you call them, are in trouble. PMN, a UK-based newsletter, cited new IDC figures showing a 10.7 percent drop in handheld computer shipments worldwide during Q2 2003 compared to the same period last year. This contrasts starkly with the 1150 percent rise in smartphone shipments reported by Canalys, PMN says, highlighting the rate at which the wireless communications device market is outstripping growth in non-connected handheld computers.
I can well believe that folk would prefer to have a gadget that hooks up to the Net, or at least to the phone network. But I also think people need to differentiate between a phone and other stuff, if only because most of the time they just need the phone. See this posting for more.