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Imagine being caught by a traffic policeman for jumping the traffic signal and getting a ticket on the spot as he takes a printout from his Blackberry. Or, if our railway minister could keep his promises, ticket collectors on trains roaming around with handheld devices to ensure there is no delay in bringing defaulters to book! No, these are not impossible fantasies. In an attempt to extract maximum productivity from their field officers and mobile workforce, managers of public sector units and enterprises are looking at migrating to providing their personnel with personal digital assistants (PDAs), which will ensure round the clock connectivity without the hassles of a laptop.

What Makes a PDA
According to Gartner, “A PDA is a data-centric handheld computer, which is primarily designed for use with both hands. These devices use an open market OS (operating system), supported by third-party applications that can be added into the device by the end user. They offer instant on/off capability and synchronization of files with a PC. A PDA may offer WAN support for voice, but these are data-first, voice-second devices. Examples of PDAs include RIM BlackBerry 8707v, HP iPAQ 69xx, Nokia E61, Motorola Q, T-Mobile Dash, and Sidekick 3.

PDAs are distinguished from smartphones by their form factor and primary purpose. Smartphones offer all the attributes of a PDA, except that smartphones are voice-centric and are designed for primarily one-handed operation. For example, Palm Treo 750v, RIM BlackBerry Pearl, Orange SPV C700, Nokia E60, and Sony Ericsson P990i. Given the host of functionalities they support, PDAs have always been priced in the range of Rs 25,000-45,000 and that has been one of the biggest obstacles to widespread adoption of these phones. But, over the years, the image, price and usage of PDAs have undergone a paradigm shift.

From being something that was the prerogative of CEOs or the rich and famous or a geeky workaholic, it has now become an effective tool in ensuring that executives on the move can deliver on their goals without having to stop to set up their laptop. With India poised to become the world's third largest in terms of mobile population, multimedia handset makers are taking a careful look at the kind of products their stables are unleashing.

Explains Pankaj Mohindroo, chairman, i-mate India, “There is an enhanced awareness among corporates about how equipping their workforce with a quality mobility tool can help them extract more productivity. So, organizations have begun to look at products like handheld devices that allow their personnel to access functionalities like mail, data, etc, without being intrusive.”

The Market Scenario
According to In-Stat, a leading market research firm, 18.8 mn smartphones were sold in the Apac region in 2006 and this number is expected to increase to 64.2 mn by 2010. According to IDC, 70% of mobile devices will be Smartphones by 2010. Also, India is among the top ten nations in the world to use smartphones that offer mobile Internet services for corporate and business professionals.

The total available market (TAM) for PDA phones in India in 2007 is around 180,000-200,000 units. The growth for the next year is estimated to be between 30-40%.

Smartphones have a 4.7% share of the mobile handset market in India and are expected to touch 9.5% by 2011. The smartphone market is one of the fastest growing segments and various PDA manufacturers are well poised to take the leadership position in this segment. In terms of smartphones adoption, India is still in the nascent stage when compared to the global market, which is more advanced and application led. Some of the key focus areas for smartphones in the global market (according to In-Stat) are alternative networks, fixed/mobile convergence, streaming mobile video and television, social networking, location and A-GPS, Internet, and data services via handsets and corporate-liable subscriptions.

“Since the Indian economy is booming, the demand of PDA phones for business use has significantly increased” Edward Wang, head, Mobile Communication Business, ASUS India

Email support for multiple platforms, audio and video conferencing, and GPS support are the key focus areas for smartphone players in India.

Blackberry dominates the corporate PDA market. However, Research in Motion (RIM) clearly wants more. Growing international momentum and retail push are driving the demand for Blackberry Curve as well as Blackberry Pearl, promising a good Christmas season for RIM. The Blackberry Pearl represented almost 55% of RIM's total shipments in the first quarter of 2007 and with Pearl 8120 (dubbed Pearl 2), our commitment to have devices that are beautiful and rich in multimedia applications continues.

RIM recently shipped its twenty millionth Blackberry smartphone and the devices are ranked #1 in the global PDA space, with 18% market share, according to third party research. RIM shipped close to 3.1 mn Blackberry handsets in the quarter ended September 30, 2007.

The Propellers
Mobile phones have taken on a much larger role in our busy lives. “We recognize that the capability to utilize mobile phones in many ways gives consumers a better balance between work and home,” says Sudhin Mathur, GM, Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications, India.

The rising demand for business tool applications is driving the demand for smartphones, which continue to offer more choices for individuals looking for fully featured smartphones, built specifically for business use on the move. The Sony Ericsson P1i delivers just that, as it is based on the Symbian Operating System (v9.1) and boasts of its 3G capabilities along with support for BlackBerry Connect. The hi-speed UMTS and Wireless LAN (Wi-Fi) provide high-speed Web browsing and data downloads.

“The key factor that drives the smartphones/PDA market is the need for real-time, on-demand access to information and applications such as email, multiple connectivity options, support for multiple bands, voice and video conferencing, calendar, contact and other information around the clock,” says Chakrapani GK, GM, Nokia Enterprise Solutions India. Staying in touch while on the move brings a 60% improvement in business productivity, according to a Forrester Research, 2007. Hence, more and more middle and top-level executives prefer to use smartphones/PDAs to be connected even while traveling.

Secondly, the demand for smartphones is being fueled by the changing needs of today's consumers, who expect their mobiles to be more than just communication devices, without compromising on the look, comfort, simplicity and usability of a standard mobile phone. Today, smartphones and PDAs are email devices with built-in multimedia features like camera, music player, video player, etc. This makes them the preferred choice for business executives.

PDA phones or Smartphones have not just more business functions to use, but also included are the multimedia features. “Since the Indian economy is booming, the demand for a business use PDA phones has significantly increased,” says Edward Wang, head, Mobile Communication Business, ASUS India

Thirdly, the increase in disposable income enables people to incur a considerable amount on a high-end smartphone. These, supplemented by the wide variety of devices available in the market, are some of the factors driving the PDA/smartphone market in India.

Rising Demand
Most businesses today rely on email as the primary mode of communication, and quicker turnaround time translates into better productivity and growth in business. In this context, putting a device like PDA in the hands of your manager or executive and enabling him to stay connected to work 24X7 is seen to make business sense. This has been one of the foremost drivers for PDA adoption.

Analysts at Gartner suggest by 2008, 100-200 mn of the world's 650 mn mobile phones will have mobile email. Says Ajay Sharma, country manager, Dopod Communications India, “One of the key factors driving the growth of demand for PDAs is that they are seen as a productivity enhancement tool, a connectivity tool for the enterprise customer and even as a style statement for customers with increasing disposable incomes. With prices also seeing a gradual decrease, there is a growing demand in the consumer segment.”

Rajiv Grover, country manager, Consumer Portables, HP India, says that in the last one year, price points for such products have come down close to 30-40%. “Also, with major players making a beeline for emerging markets like India, there is a plethora of choices before the consumer,” he says. PDAs are now available in the country in the sub Rs 20,000 range. Blackberry has even attempted to bring down prices of certain models to the sub Rs 15,000 category.

Applications Driven Growth
Email is the largest growth driver for enterprises to go mobile. IDC projects that by 2009, there will be more than 878 mn mobile workers worldwide, demonstrating that mobility is going mainstream. According to Strategy Analytics' Wireless Enterprise User-Level Market Forecast for 2004-2010, the business use of wireless email in its various flavors (Enterprise-grade and Prosumer-grade) will appear as a credible long-term revenue driver, increasing from $1.1 bn in 2005 to $3 bn in 2010 and surpassing 30% of revenues. Mobile email, the most widespread used feature of smartphones is adopted by about 28% of large enterprises and 20% of SMBs.

Consumers want to shell off their excessive load by avoiding the notebooks and shifting to palmtops and smartphones that permit better mobility. There is an increasing need for phones that can be used for business as well as entertainment purposes. Sony Ericsson's P1i is a business phone that offers entertainment as well. The most common features that consumers look for in their smartphones could be the hi-speed UMTS and Wireless LAN (Wi-Fi) provision for high-speed Web browsing and data downloads, 3G capabilities along with support for BlackBerry Connect Handwriting recognition, local and remote data transfer between the phone set and computers. “Push email paved way for the early success of this market, but mobile applications will drive the next phase for us, especially in the emerging markets like India,” says Sudhin Mathur, GM, Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications, India.

Emphasis on multimedia will continue to grow as Blackberry becomes more of a personal device for the user. RIM's most recent tie-up with Facebook, which brings the social networking site to the phone, promises a lot of growth potential.

At a Glance

18.8 mn Smartphones were sold in the Apac region in 2006 By 2010, around 64.2 mn Smartphones will be sold only in Apac region According to IDC, 70% of mobile devices will be Smartphones by 2010 The total available market (TAM) for PDA phones in India in 2007 is around 180,000-200,000 units Smartphones have a 4.7% share of the mobile handset market in India and are expected to touch 9.5% by 2011 At present, Blackberry dominates the corporate PDA market Staying in touch while on the move brings a 60% improvement in business productivity By 2008, 100-200 mn of the world's 650 mn mobile phones will have mobile email New demand for PDAs is coming from emerging markets like India and

Nokia E90 Communicator supports a number of mobile email platforms, including Nokia Intellisync Wireless Email 8.X and a variety of third-party email clients; Mail for Exchange 1.5 (delivered via Nokia Downloads! Application), Visto Mobile v5.5, and RIM BlackBerry Connect v2.1, (email clients are dependent on operator variant). It allows the user to view and edit email attachments with Quickoffice, Zip Manager, and Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Another killer application is the Global Positioning System (GPS). The GPS market in India is in the nascent stage, but the industry believes the use of the system could develop rapidly, owing to an increased use of the technology in fleet management and transport navigation in the country. Nokia offers Nokia E90, which is the first Nokia E-series device to offer onboard GPS along with high-speed connectivity to allow consumers to search map and navigate to a location.

The Nokia E90 has a global positioning system receiver, which uses satellites to determine a user's location, speed, and direction. Local maps come installed in the phones and additional maps can be downloaded from Nokia's website, either directly to the phone or via a computer. Conference facility is another application gaining popularity, thus, driving the PDA business further. This has become a necessity in today's corporate world.

The Indian Connection
New demand for PDAs is coming from emerging markets like India and China. According to Gartner, “The PDA shipments to India grew to a total of 24,000 units in 2006, a 62% growth over 2005”. India has been the fastest growing market for high-end phones, partly because of growing affordability, and partly because, given the poor penetration of broadband and wireless in India, the only way a person can remain connected 24x7 is if he has a PDA that is already mapped on to a data enabled network.

The Indian market has its own set of ingredients that makes it different from the global market. All handset makers focus to continue to work with customers and enterprises to bring the benefits of extended mobility to the Indian user. Nokia's strategy will be to focus on extending the benefits of mobility to all segments of the market, by providing affordable, feature-rich phones and innovative solutions to meet the business needs. “Our focus is on empowering the middle management in the age group of 30-40 years who are looking at higher productivity levels leveraging our enterprise solutions capabilities to bring extended mobility to businesses of all sizes,” says Chakrapani. Various PDA manufacturers are now targeting banking, government, BFSI, ITES, and education verticals among others.

Apart from regular handset manufacturers, even notebook manufactures are trying their hand at making handheld devices with email as the primary functionality like Asus, Acer, Gigabyte, and LG. Myilravanan Nathar, country manager, Sales, O2 India, a handset manufacturer, says the company is eying 35% of the market share in Windows-based mobiles, and, to this end, plans to launch close to seven new models in this year in the country.

The Future Scenario
India is going to witness a boom in the smartphone/PDA segment. The market penetration is in the nascent stage, but it will get competitive in the next two-three years. The driving factors for the increasing use of smartphones will be the increasing need for real-time access to information and on-demand access to applications such as email, calendar, contact, etc round-the-clock. But, the biggest bottleneck to its growth in India, so far, has been the lack of right kind of applications like GPS or LBS. In India, though, the technology is relatively new, especially the navigation and maps functionalities, due to dispersed geographic demarcation and with only a handful of mobile handhelds. Now almost everybody uses his or her phone to check and respond to his email while on the move. And, with integration and networking becoming the lifeline of existence today, unless you are logged on 24x7, you might just lose out on the race!

Gyana Ranjan Swain
gyanas@cybermedia.co.in