Zire was Best-selling handheld
By Amy | Reporter
Date : 02/11/2003

According to the NPD Group dated Feb 6, 2003, the Palm Zire handheld was the best-selling PDA in U.S. channels during the fourth quarter of 2002 -- accounting for 13% of unit sales.





The NPD Group data also confirmed the Palm Zire handheld had the highest sales figures during its first three months after introduction of any handheld tracked by the market-information company. The NPD Group reported that during the quarter more than 228,000 Palm Zire handhelds were sold. Additionally, the five top-selling handhelds during the quarter all were Palm branded products -- accounting for 46% of all units sold.

What's in the box

• Palm Zire handheld
• Protective flip lid
• Stylus
• Mini-USB to USB HotSync cable
• Power adapter for charging
• Installation CD-ROM
• Instruction manuals

Specifications

The basic specifications of the Palm Zire m150 are:

• 16 MHz Motorola Dragonball EZ processor
• Palm OS version 4.1
• Grayscale LCD (160 pixels by 160 pixels)
• 4.4 inches by 2.9 inches by .6 inches
• 3.8 ounces
• 2 MB RAM
• 2 MB ROM (4 MB for International versions)
• Rechargeable lithium-ion battery
• Mini USB and IrDA Serial ports

Palm Solutions Group also said that registration data indicates more than 90% of consumers who bought Zire handhelds are new handheld purchasers -- exactly the customer set Palm intended. The world's largest PDA company believes that many of the Zire buyers of today will become purchases of higher-performance its handhelds in the future.

The Zire handheld, which was introduced Oct. 7, 2002, is said to be the most affordable and lightest-weight Palm branded handheld to date. With an estimated U.S. street price of US$99, the Palm Zire handheld target buyer is the first-time purchaser who needs an affordable way to organize a busy life. Named as a best product of 2002 by BusinessWeek, PC Magazine and others, the Zire handheld helps students, families and individuals in business meet the demands of juggling endless events and other activities.



While the handheld space is still a nascent market, Palm research shows that in the U.S. alone there are more than 63 million individuals interested in purchasing handheld devices.