Peter Griffin: Smartphones are hot, and software developers are having to adjust

It's not looking good for the humble handheld computer. A couple of developments this month have indicated what the reduction in marketing hype had already pointed to - handheld computers, or PDAs (personal digital assistants), are in decline, falling to the "smartphone".

First Sony said it was withdrawing its Palm operating system-based device, the Clie, from the US market. Development of Clie is now restricted to Japan.

The news came days after local electronics maker Navman touted its big tie-up with Sony to supply navigational software for the device in Europe.

Navman was hoping to extend the relationship to other parts of the world. That now looks unlikely.

The second development was a survey from British researcher Canalys which showed Nokia had knocked PalmOne from its top spot as the world's biggest seller of "mobile computers".

In the first three months of the year, Nokia increased its market share from 22 per cent to about 28 per cent. Handheld maker PalmOne went from 26 per cent to 17 per cent.

Hewlett-Packard, which for a while was gaining ground with its Microsoft-based Ipaq, slid from having 10.6 per cent of the market to 9.6 per cent.

Only car navigation bundles sold in Europe saved HP's third place in the world market.

But route-finder software is available on smartphones - mobile phones that incorporate an increasingly varied collection of applications. People are asking themselves - "Do I want to carry a bulky rectangular device in my pocket or be able to do almost as much with something the size and shape of a phone.

Once these phones include location-based services and even global positioning system software, there'll be no stopping them.

Around the world, shipments of handheld computers are flat, but smartphone volumes have doubled.

The one to watch seems to be Canada's Research In Motion, the maker of the popular Blackberry device, which is now reaching the New Zealand market via Vodafone after an eternity of delays.

The Blackberry has some clever software for sending email across mobile networks to the device. American workers who spend a lot of time on the road love them for viewing their email headers and sending replies.

RIM is all of a sudden number four in the world rankings with 6.4 per cent of mobile computers sold.

It has dropped its prices, made the Blackberry more fashionable by adding colour, and done some clever deals with operators around the world.

The rise of the smartphone seems to indicate that the comfortable option for connected users is to have a PC, maybe a laptop, and a phone.

The PDA is an unnecessary addition for most.

Nokia hasn't really gone into the smartphone market, but its Series 60 software seems to be giving it a boost.

Phone makers such as Siemens, Sendo and Samsung also use Series 60 software.

What does this mean for application software developers? They will increasingly have to write their applications for Smartphones, especially if they plan to aim at the consumer market.

It will also have implications for New Zealand developers.

When Geovector, the Christchurch company developing GPS-based services for mobile devices, started it was demonstrating its software on the iPaq.

Now it needs a deal with one of the mobile handset vendors to succeed.

Other local developers - such as IT Link, which has developed some intelligent business software for Palm-based PDAs - might have to refocus their efforts on the Smartphone.

I have a Palm device and the Qtek, and am using the former less and less these days - the phone is king.

That's music to the likes of Vodafone which is committing at least $400 million to build a 3G mobile network in New Zealand.

The promise is that this will deliver a wider range of services, including video calling and music downloads.

To do that, the companies need the support of the handset vendors, armed with functional phones. The smartphone fits the bill.

The battle for the smartphone market is now on and Microsoft, which is pushing its Windows Mobile platform, looks set to increase its market share at the expense of the traditional mobile companies.

One thing's for sure - the number of mobile phones being produced around the world shows that the appetite for mobility, especially in markets such as China, is near insatiable.

* Email Peter Griffin