Frost & Sullivan: A Rocky Beginning for Portable Handheld Terminals Opens New Potential for Consumer Acceptance
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — April 7, 1997 — Try taking field notes with a clipboard and paper in the middle of the rain forest. Or go to the other side of the world and try holding down a pile of papers inside of a sand dune. These are the kinds of problems that have plagued people for years when they have to do field work and are away from their office resources.
According to recent strategic research by Frost & Sullivan, the World Portable Handheld Terminal Market has seen an increase in demand for these terminals due to companies wanting to decrease costs and to increase operation through automation. This market is in a state of growth due to the new geographic areas demanding these products.
In the world of portable data terminals, there are three distinct product types: hand-held terminals, pen tablets, and rugged laptop computers. Advancements in technology and higher production runs have enabled many manufacturers to begin producing and selling existing product lines at a lower cost. Now companies can sell their products to customers who were originally unwilling to pay a higher price for other product lines.
The revenues for the hand-held data terminals are expected to reach $1.77 billion in 2002. By looking at the end-users, this research concludes that the industrial segment is growing the fastest, due to the use of hand-held terminals in the retail industry. Hand-held terminals were responsible for the highest percentages in revenues in 1995.
Automatic Identification Analyst Shannon Worthen says, "End-users want products that they can use to work from any location as they would be able to do in the office. They want similar computing power, long battery life and products that allow them to work easily and efficiently." Companies are aware of this and have given the consumer exactly what they want — a dependable product that won't die in the middle of transferring data.
Increased customer service is becoming an industry standard, and for many manufacturers, the only way they can distinguish themselves from their competition. Whether it be through web sites, educational seminars, 24-hour support lines or increasing their customer service can often be the only way to keep a loyal customer coming back. The value of this study lies in its strategic content that builds on such ideas.
The ability to transmit information using radio frequency (RF) technology is one of the most significant trends occurring in the portable data terminals market in recent years. Although RF technology has been around for quite awhile, the integration of a radio into a hand-held terminal is a trend that has been growing during the last 3-5 years. Manufacturers have placed increased emphasis on developing lines of products with RF capability.
Rugged pen terminals are designed to be operated in harsh environments and to withstand damage associated with being dropped or exposed to water, chemicals, extreme temperatures and high levels of humidity. The healthcare industry has just started to use the non-rugged pen terminals for prescribing medication and entering vital statistics via the pen terminal.
The increasing demand for laptop computers that can withstand greater levels of shock or damage has created a niche market that has been filled to a great extent by smaller, private companies that create computers for smaller applications. These are used predominantly in the fieldwork applications.
The technologies that are profiled in this research include the portable data terminals market, hand-held data terminals, RF hand-held data terminals, and batch hand-held data terminals. In the pen tablet segment the ruggedized and non-rugged pen tablets are covered.
Companies participating in this market include: Allen-Bradley Co./DataMyte Division, AMCI, AMREL Technology, Badger Computers, Code Flier Technology Co., Ltd., Compsee, Inc., Computer Identics, Computerwise, Inc., Corvallis Microtechnology, Inc., DAP Technologies Corporation, Dassualt Electronique, Data Entry Systems, Data General Corporation, Data Net Corporation, Dauphin Technology, Inc., DENSEI, Denso ID Systems, Digital Ocean, Dolch Computer Systems, Fieldworks, Incorporated, Fujitsu Personal Systems, Getac Corporation, Granite Communications, Hand Held Products, Inc., Hansen Information Technologies, Husky Computers, Incorporated, HyperData Technology Corporation (HDT), IBM, Intelligent Barcode Systems, Inc., Intermec Corp., ITRON, Inc., Itronix, Kalidor, Inc., Kontron Electronik Corporation, Laversab, LINX Data Terminal, LXE, Inc., Mars Electronics International, Micro-Intelligent Systems, Inc., Motorola, Norand Corp., Omnidata International, Inc., Packard Bell (Zenith Data Systems), Panasonic Communications & Systems, Panasonic Industrial Company, Psion, Inc., Seiko Epson Corporation, Sharp Electronics Corporation, Stealth Computer Corporation, Symbol Technologies Inc., Teklogix Incorporated, Telepad Corporation, Telxon Corporation, Texas Microsystems, Inc., Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc. (TAIS), Universal Data, WPI Termiflex, Inc., XL Computing Products, and Zebex Industries, Inc.
Frost & Sullivan is an international marketing consulting company that monitors the automatic identification industry for market trends, market measurements and strategies. This ongoing research is utilized to update a series of research publications such as #5512-11 U.S. Radio Frequency Identification Equipment Markets and to support industry participants with customized consulting needs.
Report: 5541-11 Publish Date: April 1997 Price: $2450
SOURCE Frost & Sullivan
CONTACT: Amanda Christensen of Frost & Sullivan, 415-237-4385, or fax, 415-903-0915, or achristensen@frost.com, or http: