The World in Your Palm

Imagine being caught by a traffic policeman for jumping the traffic signal

and getting a ticket on the spot as he takes a printout from his Blackberry. Or,

if our railway minister could keep his promises, ticket collectors on trains

roaming around with handheld devices to ensure there is no delay in bringing

defaulters to book! No, these are not impossible fantasies. In an attempt to

extract maximum productivity from their field officers and mobile workforce,

managers of public sector units and enterprises are looking at migrating to

providing their personnel with personal digital assistants (PDAs), which will

ensure round the clock connectivity without the hassles of a laptop.

What Makes a PDA



According to Gartner, “A PDA is a data-centric handheld computer, which is

primarily designed for use with both hands. These devices use an open market OS

(operating system), supported by third-party applications that can be added into

the device by the end user. They offer instant on/off capability and

synchronization of files with a PC. A PDA may offer WAN support for voice, but

these are data-first, voice-second devices. Examples of PDAs include RIM

BlackBerry 8707v, HP iPAQ 69xx, Nokia E61, Motorola Q, T-Mobile Dash, and

Sidekick 3.

PDAs are distinguished from smartphones by their form factor and primary

purpose. Smartphones offer all the attributes of a PDA, except that smartphones

are voice-centric and are designed for primarily one-handed operation. For

example, Palm Treo 750v, RIM BlackBerry Pearl, Orange SPV C700, Nokia E60, and

Sony Ericsson P990i. Given the host of functionalities they support, PDAs have

always been priced in the range of Rs 25,000-45,000 and that has been one of the

biggest obstacles to widespread adoption of these phones. But, over the years,

the image, price and usage of PDAs have undergone a paradigm shift.

From being something that was the prerogative of CEOs or the rich and famous

or a geeky workaholic, it has now become an effective tool in ensuring that

executives on the move can deliver on their goals without having to stop to set

up their laptop. With India poised to become the world's third largest in terms

of mobile population, multimedia handset makers are taking a careful look at the

kind of products their stables are unleashing.

Explains Pankaj Mohindroo, chairman, i-mate India, “There is an enhanced

awareness among corporates about how equipping their workforce with a quality

mobility tool can help them extract more productivity. So, organizations have

begun to look at products like handheld devices that allow their personnel to

access functionalities like mail, data, etc, without being intrusive.”

The Market Scenario



According to In-Stat, a leading market research firm, 18.8 mn smartphones

were sold in the Apac region in 2006 and this number is expected to increase to

64.2 mn by 2010. According to IDC, 70% of mobile devices will be Smartphones by

2010. Also, India is among the top ten nations in the world to use smartphones

that offer mobile Internet services for corporate and business professionals.

The total available market (TAM) for PDA phones in India in 2007 is around

180,000-200,000 units. The growth for the next year is estimated to be between

30-40%.

Smartphones have a 4.7% share of the mobile handset market in India and are

expected to touch 9.5% by 2011. The smartphone market is one of the fastest

growing segments and various PDA manufacturers are well poised to take the

leadership position in this segment. In terms of smartphones adoption, India is

still in the nascent stage when compared to the global market, which is more

advanced and application led. Some of the key focus areas for smartphones in the

global market (according to In-Stat) are alternative networks, fixed/mobile

convergence, streaming mobile video and television, social networking, location

and A-GPS, Internet, and data services via handsets and corporate-liable

subscriptions.

“Since the Indian economy is booming, the demand of PDA phones for business use has significantly increased” Edward Wang, head, Mobile Communication Business, ASUS India

Email support for multiple platforms, audio and video conferencing, and GPS

support are the key focus areas for smartphone players in India.

Blackberry dominates the corporate PDA market. However, Research in Motion

(RIM) clearly wants more. Growing international momentum and retail push are

driving the demand for Blackberry Curve as well as Blackberry Pearl, promising a

good Christmas season for RIM. The Blackberry Pearl represented almost 55% of

RIM's total shipments in the first quarter of 2007 and with Pearl 8120 (dubbed

Pearl 2), our commitment to have devices that are beautiful and rich in

multimedia applications continues.

RIM recently shipped its twenty millionth Blackberry smartphone and the

devices are ranked #1 in the global PDA space, with 18% market share, according

to third party research. RIM shipped close to 3.1 mn Blackberry handsets in the

quarter ended September 30, 2007.

The Propellers



Mobile phones have taken on a much larger role in our busy lives. “We

recognize that the capability to utilize mobile phones in many ways gives

consumers a better balance between work and home,” says Sudhin Mathur, GM, Sony

Ericsson Mobile Communications, India.

The rising demand for business tool applications is driving the demand for

smartphones, which continue to offer more choices for individuals looking for

fully featured smartphones, built specifically for business use on the move. The

Sony Ericsson P1i delivers just that, as it is based on the Symbian Operating

System (v9.1) and boasts of its 3G capabilities along with support for

BlackBerry Connect. The hi-speed UMTS and Wireless LAN (Wi-Fi) provide

high-speed Web browsing and data downloads.

“The key factor that drives the smartphones/PDA market is the need for

real-time, on-demand access to information and applications such as email,

multiple connectivity options, support for multiple bands, voice and video

conferencing, calendar, contact and other information around the clock,” says

Chakrapani GK, GM, Nokia Enterprise Solutions India. Staying in touch while on

the move brings a 60% improvement in business productivity, according to a

Forrester Research, 2007. Hence, more and more middle and top-level executives

prefer to use smartphones/PDAs to be connected even while traveling.

Secondly, the demand for smartphones is being fueled by the changing needs of

today's consumers, who expect their mobiles to be more than just communication

devices, without compromising on the look, comfort, simplicity and usability of

a standard mobile phone. Today, smartphones and PDAs are email devices with

built-in multimedia features like camera, music player, video player, etc. This

makes them the preferred choice for business executives.

PDA phones or Smartphones have not just more business functions to use, but

also included are the multimedia features. “Since the Indian economy is booming,

the demand for a business use PDA phones has significantly increased,” says

Edward Wang, head, Mobile Communication Business, ASUS India

Thirdly, the increase in disposable income enables people to incur a

considerable amount on a high-end smartphone. These, supplemented by the wide

variety of devices available in the market, are some of the factors driving the

PDA/smartphone market in India.

Rising Demand



Most businesses today rely on email as the primary mode of communication,

and quicker turnaround time translates into better productivity and growth in

business. In this context, putting a device like PDA in the hands of your

manager or executive and enabling him to stay connected to work 24X7 is seen to

make business sense. This has been one of the foremost drivers for PDA adoption.

Analysts at Gartner suggest by 2008, 100-200 mn of the world's 650 mn mobile

phones will have mobile email. Says Ajay Sharma, country manager, Dopod

Communications India, “One of the key factors driving the growth of demand for

PDAs is that they are seen as a productivity enhancement tool, a connectivity

tool for the enterprise customer and even as a style statement for customers

with increasing disposable incomes. With prices also seeing a gradual decrease,

there is a growing demand in the consumer segment.”

Rajiv Grover, country manager, Consumer Portables, HP India, says that in the

last one year, price points for such products have come down close to 30-40%.

“Also, with major players making a beeline for emerging markets like India,

there is a plethora of choices before the consumer,” he says. PDAs are now

available in the country in the sub Rs 20,000 range. Blackberry has even

attempted to bring down prices of certain models to the sub Rs 15,000 category.

Applications Driven Growth



Email is the largest growth driver for enterprises to go mobile. IDC

projects that by 2009, there will be more than 878 mn mobile workers worldwide,

demonstrating that mobility is going mainstream. According to Strategy

Analytics' Wireless Enterprise User-Level Market Forecast for 2004-2010, the

business use of wireless email in its various flavors (Enterprise-grade and

Prosumer-grade) will appear as a credible long-term revenue driver, increasing

from $1.1 bn in 2005 to $3 bn in 2010 and surpassing 30% of revenues. Mobile

email, the most widespread used feature of smartphones is adopted by about 28%

of large enterprises and 20% of SMBs.

Consumers want to shell off their excessive load by avoiding the notebooks

and shifting to palmtops and smartphones that permit better mobility. There is

an increasing need for phones that can be used for business as well as

entertainment purposes. Sony Ericsson's P1i is a business phone that offers

entertainment as well. The most common features that consumers look for in their

smartphones could be the hi-speed UMTS and Wireless LAN (Wi-Fi) provision for

high-speed Web browsing and data downloads, 3G capabilities along with support

for BlackBerry Connect Handwriting recognition, local and remote data transfer

between the phone set and computers. “Push email paved way for the early success

of this market, but mobile applications will drive the next phase for us,

especially in the emerging markets like India,” says Sudhin Mathur, GM, Sony

Ericsson Mobile Communications, India.

Emphasis on multimedia will continue to grow as Blackberry becomes more of a

personal device for the user. RIM's most recent tie-up with Facebook, which

brings the social networking site to the phone, promises a lot of growth

potential.

At a Glance

18.8 mn Smartphones were sold in the Apac region in 2006 By 2010, around 64.2 mn Smartphones will be sold only in Apac region According to IDC, 70% of mobile devices will be Smartphones by 2010 The total available market (TAM) for PDA phones in India in 2007 is around 180,000-200,000 units Smartphones have a 4.7% share of the mobile handset market in India and are expected to touch 9.5% by 2011 At present, Blackberry dominates the corporate PDA market Staying in touch while on the move brings a 60% improvement in business productivity By 2008, 100-200 mn of the world's 650 mn mobile phones will have mobile email New demand for PDAs is coming from emerging markets like India and

Nokia E90 Communicator supports a number of mobile email platforms, including

Nokia Intellisync Wireless Email 8.X and a variety of third-party email clients;

Mail for Exchange 1.5 (delivered via Nokia Downloads! Application), Visto Mobile

v5.5, and RIM BlackBerry Connect v2.1, (email clients are dependent on operator

variant). It allows the user to view and edit email attachments with Quickoffice,

Zip Manager, and Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Another killer application is the Global Positioning System (GPS). The GPS

market in India is in the nascent stage, but the industry believes the use of

the system could develop rapidly, owing to an increased use of the technology in

fleet management and transport navigation in the country. Nokia offers Nokia

E90, which is the first Nokia E-series device to offer onboard GPS along with

high-speed connectivity to allow consumers to search map and navigate to a

location.

The Nokia E90 has a global positioning system receiver, which uses satellites

to determine a user's location, speed, and direction. Local maps come installed

in the phones and additional maps can be downloaded from Nokia's website, either

directly to the phone or via a computer. Conference facility is another

application gaining popularity, thus, driving the PDA business further. This has

become a necessity in today's corporate world.

The Indian Connection



New demand for PDAs is coming from emerging markets like India and China.

According to Gartner, “The PDA shipments to India grew to a total of 24,000

units in 2006, a 62% growth over 2005”. India has been the fastest growing

market for high-end phones, partly because of growing affordability, and partly

because, given the poor penetration of broadband and wireless in India, the only

way a person can remain connected 24x7 is if he has a PDA that is already mapped

on to a data enabled network.

The Indian market has its own set of ingredients that makes it different from

the global market. All handset makers focus to continue to work with customers

and enterprises to bring the benefits of extended mobility to the Indian user.

Nokia's strategy will be to focus on extending the benefits of mobility to all

segments of the market, by providing affordable, feature-rich phones and

innovative solutions to meet the business needs. “Our focus is on empowering the

middle management in the age group of 30-40 years who are looking at higher

productivity levels leveraging our enterprise solutions capabilities to bring

extended mobility to businesses of all sizes,” says Chakrapani. Various PDA

manufacturers are now targeting banking, government, BFSI, ITES, and education

verticals among others.

Apart from regular handset manufacturers, even notebook manufactures are

trying their hand at making handheld devices with email as the primary

functionality like Asus, Acer, Gigabyte, and LG. Myilravanan Nathar, country

manager, Sales, O2 India, a handset manufacturer, says the company is eying 35%

of the market share in Windows-based mobiles, and, to this end, plans to launch

close to seven new models in this year in the country.

The Future Scenario



India is going to witness a boom in the smartphone/PDA segment. The market

penetration is in the nascent stage, but it will get competitive in the next

two-three years. The driving factors for the increasing use of smartphones will

be the increasing need for real-time access to information and on-demand access

to applications such as email, calendar, contact, etc round-the-clock. But, the

biggest bottleneck to its growth in India, so far, has been the lack of right

kind of applications like GPS or LBS. In India, though, the technology is

relatively new, especially the navigation and maps functionalities, due to

dispersed geographic demarcation and with only a handful of mobile handhelds.

Now almost everybody uses his or her phone to check and respond to his email

while on the move. And, with integration and networking becoming the lifeline of

existence today, unless you are logged on 24x7, you might just lose out on the

race!

Gyana Ranjan Swain



gyanas@cybermedia.co.in