According to the latest market data from IDC’s European Mobile Device Market Tracker, the Western European market for mobile devices (including standalone PDAs and converged devices) grew a substantial 91% in Q2, with shipments reaching 3.4 million units compared to 1.8 million units in the second quarter of 2004. Nokia reinforced its dominance with 57 percent of total shipments, while the number 2 spot was shared by four vendors — Palm, HP, Sony Ericsson, and Acer — each with a 5 percent share of the market. The handheld market continued to exhibit positive growth with year-on-year shipments increasing by 7 percent to 692,000 units, as Acer gained market leadership. A record quarter for the converged device segment reinforced its position as the primary source of market growth with a year-on-year shipment increase of 139 percent to 2.7 million units. Despite lacking the impetus commonly provided by new device launches, second quarter growth in the converged segment was buoyed by consumer demand for media-oriented devices, positioned for penetration into the mass market and beginning to successfully leverage the strength of an enhanced application feature set.
