According to MIC (Market Intelligence Center), an ICT industry research institute based in Taipei, Taiwanese PDA shipment volume is expected to jump 23.9% sequentially to 4.5 million units in the fourth quarter of 2006 due to the peak-season effect and the rollout of various 3G PDA phones. For the full year 2006, Taiwanese PDA shipment volume is expected to grow 13.4% to 15.3 million units, with shipment value surging 43.7% to approximately US$4.66 billion. Shipment volume is expected to drop 10.4% sequentially to 4.0 million units in the first quarter of 2007.

Four to five new 3G PDA phone models will hit the market in the fourth quarter to meet year-end peak-season demand. It is expected that Taiwanese PDA phone shipment volume will hit approximately 3.2 million units in the fourth quarter, boasting a shipment share of 71%, and reach 5.5 million units for the entire second half, up 28.1% over the first half of the year. Full-year shipment volume is expected to reach 9.8 million units. Affected by many older models exiting the market and higher shipment volume in the fourth quarter, shipment volume is expected to fall 6% to 3.0 million units in the first quarter of 2007.

Affected by the delayed launch of new 3G models by several major vendors and the market exit of older models, Taiwanese PDA shipment volume reached 3.6 million units in the third quarter of 2006, up 4.4% year-on-year but down 4.2% sequentially. Despite a slight decline in PDA phone shipment volume, due to large-scale contraction of pure PDA shipment and an upturn in GPS PDA shipment volume, ASP (Average Selling Price) remained at approximately the same level as the previous quarter, reaching US$306. As the shipment share of PDA phones has increased significantly in recent quarters, third-quarter shipment value surged 39.9% year-on-year to approximately US$1.12 billion, which, however, represented a sequential decline of 5.3%.

Due to extended certification processes for some 3G models' software, rollout of some PDA phones was delayed, postponing the market exit of existing 2G models. This also led to a shortage of components, as component makers could not respond in time. As a result, PDA phone shipment volume dropped 6.2% sequentially to 2.3 million units in the third quarter. The shipment share of PDA phones remained at the second quarter's level of about 64%. Owing to the growth of PND (Portable Navigation Device) and PDA phones, combined shipment volume of GPS PDA and pure PDA reached only 1.3 million units, with their shipment share remaining at 36%.

More information can be found in the following MIC report.  The Taiwanese PDA Industry, 4Q 2006

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