The market for European mobile devices grew by 25.6% compared to the same period in 2003, driven by sustained smart phone volumes and continued growth for handheld device vendors. Standalone handheld device vendors recorded growth of 9%, as GPS bundles failed to record the same success in retail stores as in 4Q03 and lower margins forced at least one vendor to withdraw from the handheld market.
Converged device volumes continued to grow by around 35% during the quarter, although recorded growth was slower than expected. The business market displayed a greater desire for mobile solutions, reflected in the continued growth of vendors such as RIM with its integrated end-to-end email and personal information management solution. However, despite strong demand and healthy volumes, Nokia and Sony Ericsson failed to execute as efficiently as in previous quarters.
IDC European Mobile Device Vendor Shares, 1Q04
| Rank | Vendor | 1Q04 | % Share | 1Q03 | % Share | Growth |
| 1 | Nokia | 705,020 | 42.8% | 519,050 | 39.6% | 35.8% |
| 2 | PalmOne | 216,500 | 13.1% | 201,600 | 15.4% | 7.4% |
| 3 | HP | 196,080 | 11.9% | 142,700 | 10.9% | 37.4% |
| 4 | Sony Ericsson | 146,500 | 8.9% | 136,750 | 10.4% | 7.1% |
| 5 | Siemens | 78,215 | 4.7% | 1,900 | 0.1% | 4016.6% |
| Others | 304,390 | 18.5% | 309,020 | 23.6% | -1.5% | |
| Total | 1,646,705 | 100.0% | 1,311,020 | 100.0% | 25.6% | |
| Source: IDC, 2004 | ||||||
IDC European Mobile Device Operating System Shares, 1Q04
| Operating System | 1Q04 | % Share | 1Q03 | % Share | Growth |
| Symbian | 941,235 | 57.2% | 655,950 | 50.0% | 43.5% |
| Windows Mobile | 393,105 | 23.9% | 345,450 | 26.3% | 13.8% |
| Palm OS | 254,675 | 15.5% | 259,710 | 19.8% | -1.9% |
| Other | 57,690 | 3.5% | 49,910 | 3.8% | 15.6% |
| Total | 1,646,705 | 100% | 1,311,020 | 100% | 25.6% |
| Source: IDC, 2004 | |||||