Worldwide sales of handheld personal computers saw strong growth during the first half of this year with shipments reaching 1.4 million units, compared to 1996’s year-end total of 1.6 million shipments, according to research conducted by Dataquest. The growth was led by the standard handheld market, which shipped 842,000 units, driven once again by the success of 3Com Corp’s Pilot, which held 66% market share for the first half of 1997. Windows CE-based handheld PCs garnered 20 percent of the standard handheld market. Standard handhelds are defined as general- purpose computers that are distinguished from expandable organizers by their adherence to hardware and software compatibility standards. Expandable organizer shipments accounted for 39 percent of the first-half shipments, a significant shift from the end of 1996, when expandable organizers bagged 51 percent of the overall handheld market.
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