Palm takes PDAs to China

Palm Inc has set its sights on becoming a major player in the burgeoning Chinese PDA market. The Milpitas, California-based company's Palm Solutions Group plans to offer of a range of Chinese language-enabled devices across its three main target segments with marketing and sales support coming from a new office in China.

Initial devices include Palm’s enterprise-class Tungsten T, its mid-range m500, and its budget-priced Zire. Users will be able operate the devices in either simplified or traditional Chinese, with English as an extra option.

Palm has signed Digital China as a distribution partner for the project, while distribution to the wider Asia-Pacific region will be facilitated through a new center in Hong Kong.

The move by Palm’s hardware business to conquer the region follows a similar move announced last December by the company’s operating systems business, PalmSource Inc. Palm OS licensees in the Chinese language market include Legend Group Ltd, Group Sense (International) Ltd, and Acer Inc.

IDC has predicted that PDA sales in Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan) will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 36.5% to 2006. Home-grown operating systems and software currently dominate the Chinese PDA market with about a 70% share.

Source: Computerwire

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