Why the handheld market isn't dead yet

[Colin Dunstan]

At least according to this BargainPDA editorial, despite shrinking sales numbers the handheld market isn't dying yet.

Any smartphone worth the name is far more a handheld computer than it is a cellular phone. To say that smartphones will replace handhelds is like saying that two-door sedans will replace cars. Even if, tomorrow morning, every device shipped with a cellular radio, the handheld computing market would still exist. It might look a little different. But then again, it might not.

And it would be so easy: to "rescue" handhelds all we'd have to do is to abolish all artificial categorizations differentiating between handhelds and smartphones.

[TadW]

Really, who cares? Let the consumer decide whether the handheld is dead or not. All this scientific talk around the demise of handhels makes me *yawn*.

[Brian]

Personally, I think there is a lot of evidence that would suggest that wireless handheld devices will become the primary computing device for a significant number of people. We'll have ubiquitous wireless connectivity and access (either online our locally) to our personal data and personalized content, as well as the ability to carry around our desktop computing environment. Once handheld devices have the processing power (just look at the OQO) or become thin clients on the web, they'll be able to transform into a full computer with the addition of a keyboard, mouse and full sized monitor.