PDAs: going the way of the dinosaurs…

10 10 2006

Research firm Gartner have reported a worldwide slow-down in the sale of PDAs, with global sales increasing only 5% in the last year, and Palm not bothering to release a new model in 2006 at all, according to a post on MobHappy.

Smartphones - devices which integrate the functionality of PDAs with mobile telephones - continue to boom in sales, with an increase of 75% in the last year, and a market now eclipsing PDAs 4-to-1.

This emulates my ideas on m-learning platforms - that connectivity is likely to become the “killer app” of m-learning, and connectivity options should be considered vital when choosing a PDA for teaching and learning. The Mobhappy post continues:

Next target for the mobile is the stand alone MP3 player, about to be consigned to a historical curiosity, as one of the fastest product life cycles - from launch to extinction -ever to be launched.

As the storage capacity in mobile phones continues to increase (20GB models are already slated for commercial launch early next year), and with just about every new mobile phone sold now incorporating a range of media capabilities, it may very well decrease the need to own an independant media player.

technorati tags:pda, smartphone, cellphone, mlearning, m-learning, mobilelearning, mobile-learning, clcommunity

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Date : 10 October 2006
Categories : Mobile Phone, PDA

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4 responses to “PDAs: going the way of the dinosaurs…”

11 10 2006: Alexander Hayes (14:06:46) :

Nice post Leonard. Just wondering whether we can get you and Marg to add your names into the wiki at http://nswlearnscope.wikispaces.com/bys06

We’d love to have your presence on the day virtually in any of the nominated ‘mosh-pit’ e-party events.

Love the blog….great to see it growing !
12 10 2006: Alexander Hayes (13:18:40) :

Previously, Leonard worked as Quality Manager for Catayst Interactive

- you’d better add the ‘l’ into catalyst
4 11 2006: Peter LeCornu (19:33:34) :

Interesting timing given that I bought a 1G card this week to go into my smartphone and promptly filled in with music - It is an experiment to see if that wil replace by mp3 player - so far it looks like a good idea - all in the name of reducing the number of devices that I carry around.
5 11 2006: Leonard Low (19:43:15) :

Hi Peter - yes, I’ve done the same with my mobile phone, and as a result I haven’t used my specialised MP3 player for almost a year! However, different people have different preferences when it comes to this kind of thing, so I’d be interested to find out how your own “experiment” goes…