REDMOND, Wash., May 22, 2001 — Microsoft Corp. today announced that the Pocket PC platform surpassed worldwide sales of 1 million units. The Pocket PC reached the 1 million mark before its first birthday, and momentum shows no signs of slowing down. In recent months, the PDA industry has exploded with growth and most significantly with increased sales of Pocket PC devices. According to NPD Intelect, Pocket PC sales are currently more than 26 percent of devices $350 and up, and that number continues to rise.
“Reaching the 1 million mark in record-breaking time is a major milestone for us, but it’s only the beginning as we see each month’s sales continue to top the record set the previous month. We’ve been leading the pack in delivering the functionality that customers are asking for and are thrilled that this is paying off,”
said Ben Waldman, vice president of the Mobile Device Division at Microsoft.
“We’ll continue to push the envelope because our customers have clearly indicated that being a great handheld device today and in the future means being a lot more than just a simple organizer. The market has voted and handheld customers are demanding to do more.”
“Good color screens and back-office integration have enabled the Pocket PC to make some significant inroads during the past year, in particular with its offerings for corporate customers,”
said Bob Egan, vice president at Gartner Inc.
“The momentum around connectivity solutions, developer support and integration for the Pocket PC seems to be capturing the hearts and minds of business decision-makers.”
With the introduction of the Pocket PC on April 19, 2000, Microsoft, along with hardware partners Casio Inc., Compaq Computer Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co., redefined the PDA category by offering customers the widest range of functionality on a mobile device. The device also raised the bar for what a mobile device should do and paved the way for many of the multifunctional devices that have come to market in recent months. Besides rapid sales growth since the Pocket PC’s introduction, Microsoft and industry partners have seen increasing numbers of developers moving to writing applications for the platform as well as high interest from enterprise customers.
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Developer support. The Pocket PC has seen a tremendous amount of interest from developers over the past year, and support continues to increase at a rapid pace. To date, more than 130,000 developers have received the Pocket PC software development kit; 50,000 of these kits have been distributed within the past five months.
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Enterprise traction. Enterprise customers and ISVs are realizing the benefits of the Pocket PC. In the past year, several major companies have made significant commitments to the Pocket PC Platform including Nabisco, Target Corp., U.S. Navy, Merill Lynch Direct and Starwood Hotels. Pocket PC enterprise ISVs include Siebel Systems Inc., SAP AG, J.D. Edwards & Co., Oracle Corp. and Sybase Inc. More information about enterprise customer wins is available at http://www.microsoft.com/mobile/enterprise/default.asp .
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Award winning. The Pocket PC has claimed numerous industry and editorial awards during its first year on the market. A few of the highlights include multiple editors choice awards from PC Magazine, CNET and ZDNET, the iPAQ being named most powerful device in the Guinness Book of World Records and winning the product of the year award from Mobile Insights.
“The demand for the iPAQ Pocket PC in the first quarter of 2001 has been outstanding and has far exceeded our initial expectations,”
said Ted Clark, vice president of iPAQ Mobile Solutions at Compaq Computer Corp.
“During the first quarter we shipped hundreds of thousands of units and sales of our device were up dramatically. We’re planning to double the number of devices shipped in the second half of the year worldwide. It’s going to be a great year for the Pocket PC.”
“We have been thrilled with the demand for the HP Jornada Pocket PC over the past year,”
said Boris Elisman, marketing manager for HP Embedded and Personal Systems.
“The functionality of the Pocket PC platform, combined with the hardware innovations and device options that HP offers, allows customers a wide range of choices for highly functional mobile devices.”
“This is such an exciting time to be in the PDA industry, and we are very pleased to be celebrating the 1 million devices sold mark with Microsoft,”
said Jerry Stang, vice president of sales and marketing at Casio.
“Customer demand for the CASSIOPEIA line of Pocket PCs has been substantial, and we are looking forward to another great year for the Casio Pocket PC.”
About Microsoft Pocket PC
Microsoft® Windows® Powered Pocket PCs, the next-generation PDAs from Microsoft and industry partners, offer customers the best way to connect to their most essential information while away from their desk, yet are versatile enough to satisfy the personal needs of today’s busy mobile lifestyle. Pocket PCs already include a broad range of native business, personal productivity and entertainment applications, yet can easily be expanded to adapt to each customer’s changing needs through a continually growing number of industry-standard hardware and software options.
Pocket PCs are available from many manufacturers, including Casio, Hewlett-Packard, Compaq, Symbol Technologies, Palmax Technology Company Ltd., Trium Mondo, Intermec Technologies Corp., Legend and Cesscom. The devices can be purchased at most major retail outlets, and prices range from $249 to $649.
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software — any time, any place and on any device.
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