Being the Palm fan boy I am, it makes me happy to see Palm increasing their market share. I've watched Palm go from being the market share leader in terms of PDA's and smartphones. As everyone knows the last few years have been a struggle for Palm. So it's great to hear they are finally gaining market share, and not losing it.

" June 2 (Bloomberg) -- Palm Inc. had the biggest jump in six weeks in Nasdaq trading after a researcher said its Centro e-mail phone won sales in the U.S. from Apple Inc.'s iPhone.

Palm had 13.4 percent of the market for advanced phones in the first quarter, up from 7.9 percent in the previous period, according to Framingham, Massachusetts-based research firm IDC. Apple's share fell to 19.2 percent from 26.7 percent. Research In Motion Ltd.'s BlackBerry dominated the market with 44.5 percent, up from 35.1 percent.

The Centro, which sells for $99 with a carrier contract, debuted last year in a bid to lure more cost-minded consumers to Palm. The price is a quarter the cost of the iPhone. Anticipation that Apple will release a new iPhone with faster Web browsing also hurt sales of that device, said IDC analyst Ryan Reith. Analysts expect a new iPhone to go on sale this month, he said.

"The Centro's been a success because it's very attractive to someone who doesn't want to pay $300 to $400,'' Reith said in an interview. "This summer, competition in this market will be as intense as it's ever been." Via Bloomberg.com .

Labels: centro, palm, palm os

¶ posted by Jimmie Geddes, Editor @ 6/02/2008 10:34:00 PM