The TP2008 from mainland China's Topcom has a CompactFlash slot for inserting a GPRS card.

PDA supply growth on fast track, as 3G, GPS, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi increase their applications. Taiwan makers anticipate rise in shipments.

The latest top-of-the-line PDAs from Greater China suppliers are being integrated with 3G phone applications, digital camera and multiple wireless connection options. Entertainment functions are expanded, and some new models even enable Skype VoIP calls.

Makers are integrating new technologies into upcoming PDA releases. These technologies include GPS capability and wireless connectivity via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. The additions have resulted in wider applications for PDAs.

The convergence trend has also caused the output share of standalone PDAs to shrink significantly. Among multifunction PDAs, PDA phones will continue to be the main growth driver in 2007. Even midrange PDAs already integrate MP3 player, digital camera and digital dictionary function. High-end PDAs come with built-in GPS receiver and Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity.

GPS-capable PDAs are expected to continue to post a healthy growth, despite the $200 difference compared to non-GPS PDAs. Most GPS-capable PDAs are embedded with SiRF Star III chipset. They run on Windows- and Linux-based operating systems and are powered by Intel and AMD processors.

Bluetooth is the mainstream wireless connectivity option, but the share of Wi-Fi-enabled PDAs is slowly on the rise and may pick up momentum by 2007. More makers are also planning to release GPRS-enabled PDAs.

With more functions being integrated into new PDAs, the lowest price for multifunction PDAs may climb to $250 before the end of 2006. Increased functionality is naturally causing production costs to jump.

The average selling price of PDAs in 2006 is expected to be 25 percent higher than in 2005.

	Mainland China's Jingyou has released a high-capacity Li-ion polymer battery for the Dopod 900.

There are about 30 PDA makers in Taiwan. The product's rejuvenation is expected to inevitably attract new players in the coming months. The supplier base is dominated by major IT companies such as High Tech Computer Corp. (HTC), Asustek Computer Inc., Lite-On Technology Corp., Wistron Corp. and Mitac International Corp. The roster of recent entrants includes leading EMS providers Inventec Appliances Corp., Compal Communications Inc. (CCI) and Quanta Computer Inc.
Additionally, about 100 companies manufacture PDA and GPS accessories. PDAs from Taiwan makers are not the entry-level, personal organizer types. Most are midrange to high-end models with additional functionality, such as mobile phone, GPS receiver, and MPEG-4 and MP3 playback capabilities.

A large percentage of shipments is for telematics.

Their products include in-car battery chargers and holders, GPS receivers and modules, keyboards and other input devices, cables and connectors, housings and protectors, external modules including antennas, and PDA pens.

PDA pens and battery chargers are the most widely manufactured accessories. Increasing adoption of built-in wireless modules has caused output of external modules to fall. Most new accessories are also for use with multifunction PDAs, rather than standalone models.

E-Ten Information System Co. Ltd, which is based in Taipei, began as a software development company and ventured into PDA manufacturing in 1998. Shipping 12,500 units per month, all of E-Ten's PDAs are exported under ODM and OBM arrangements, with the former taking up 60 percent and the latter, 40 percent. E-Ten invests 10 percent of its annual revenue in product development. About 190 engineers, more than half of its total workforce, work in the R&D department.

One of the company's main R&D thrusts is to enhance the entertainment functions of its PDA phones. It will release PDA phones with TV tuner and 3G/3.5G capability in Q4 2006 or early 2007.
E-Ten's G500 combines PDA, GPS and phone functions. Another model, M600+ functions as a 2-megapixel digital camera, memory card reader, video recorder and MPEG-4 player.

Taipei-based Asustek manufactures PDAs at its factory in northern Taiwan. It began manufacturing GPS-capable PDAs in 2004. The company can turn out more than 50,000 units per month.

Asustek plans to further seamlessly integrate mobile phone communication, wireless transmission and GPS capability in its PDAs. It is also intensifying promotion of its own-brand PDAs. Asustek's PDAs have multimedia entertainmentfeatures, including MP3 playback and memory expansion through a Secure Digital (SD) card slot.

Asustek's A636N and Mitac's Oscar 260 both feature Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.0 connectivity, GPS capability, MP3 playback and SD expansion slot.

Taipei's Guidetek Technology Co. Ltd is a specialist in rendering OEM and ODM services for custom-designed GPS modules and receivers for PDAs, and Bluetooth solutions. Wi-Fi solutions are set for release in 2007. Its products are suitable for compact, lightweight handheld models.

	The H8 from Peace East of mainland China has an internal GPS receiver.

There are only five makers of PDAs in mainland China. Taiwan makers are perceived to enjoy a major head start in this line, and few mainland China makers are willing to invest in the necessary technical expertise and equipment just to be able to compete in the not-too-big PDA market. Supply in 2006 is estimated to increase by 30 percent, with some makers releasing GPS-capable models.

The production scale of the makers in mainland China is also much smaller than their Taiwan counterparts. Their output of 500,000 units represents less than 5 percent of global supply in 2005. Of this, 30 percent have camera function. They offer OEM services to overseas buyers and are unlikely to venture in own-brand promotion.

PDA accessories, on the other hand, have about 100 suppliers and more are expected to enter the line to ride the wave of the PDA market's resurgence. The bulk of PDA accessories produced comprises batteries, cases, housings and memory cards.

Shenzhen-based Topcom Information Technology Co. Ltd started manufacturing PDAs in 2006. It has a monthly production capacity of 10,000 units and average output of 4,000 units. The company exports all its output to OEM buyers. Topcom's development projects include integrating GPS and GPRS capability in upcoming PDAs. It cooperates with a Shenzhen software company for its R&D projects. It uses total IC solutions from Intel and LCD panels from Taiwan suppliers. It employs 20 R&D workers.

Topcom has scheduled to introduce a new model that will allow users to surf the Internet via GPRS by the end of 2006. The product will have expandable memory via a CompactFlash slot.

Based in Beijing, Peace East Technology Development Co. Ltd manufactures GPS-capable PDAs in Shenzhen, where it has 150 workers. The company caters to overseas OEM buyers only, with a monthly production capacity of 80,000 units. It turns out 3,000 PDAs per month in H2 2006.

Peace East has about 30 R&D workers who are mainly involved in application software development. Its H8 PDA, which was released in June 2006, is built with a GPS receiver and Bluetooth and Wi-Fi modules.

Shenzhen Jingyou Communication Tech. Co. Ltd, a battery specialist, has released several models of PDA batteries. Eighty percent of its PDA battery output of 50,000 units per month is shipped overseas. Jingyou's 15 R&D workers can customize battery design according to customer specifications. Its customers are all OEMs.

	The M600+ from Taiwan's E-Ten is a quad band GSM PDA phone with 2-megapixel digital camera.

PDA accessories were a dominant line some years back in Hong Kong, but have taken a backstage to iPod accessories lately. RPS Ind. Co. Ltd specializes in accessories for iPods, PDAs and PCs.

Established 1995, RPS offers battery chargers and packs, headsets, screen protectors, cases, styli, AC and car chargers, HotSync cables, cradles and earphones.

The ISO 9000-certified manufacturer has two factories with a combined space of 15,000sqm in Shenzhen, Guangdong province. Employing 300 production workers, the factories have a monthly production capacity of 200,000 units.

Nils Neckel, managing director of RPS, identifies screen protectors, HotSync cables, cases and car chargers as the company's hottest PDA accessories.

RPS invested 2 percent of its 2005 sales in R&D, which is carried out as collaboration between in-house and third-party design engineers. Its products comply with RoHS and WEEE requirements.

Export-oriented RPS specializes in buyers' label business. OEM shipments account for 70 percent of deliveries, while ODM buyers receive the balance. It expects to register total sales of $6.5 million in 2006, representing a 30-percent growth over 2005.

RPS offers a 2-amp car charger and a silicon case for the XDA Mini. It has developed a range of universal stylus pen, ball pen-type, two-color ball pen and pencil (four-in-one), and two-in-one models.

Sharper Innovations Ltd supplies a wide array of iPod, PDA and USB accessories. Its 20-member R&D department designs PDA accessories in Hong Kong, while production is carried out at Sharper's factory in Dongguan. The company can produce about 10,000 backup chargers every month.

Sharper's PC-183 is a Pocket PC backup charger with charging indicators, LED flashlight and extra USB. It can charge four AAA batteries simultaneously.

	The MyPal A636N from Asustek of Taiwan is GPS, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth ready.

A standalone PDA from Taiwan makers is priced at $170 to $190. Midrange to high-end PDAs with multiple functions are priced from $200 to $500.

Entry-level PDAs from mainland China makers are priced at $200; midrange models, about $300; and high-end PDAs, about $500. Technology improvements in high-end units are expected to result in 10 percent to 15 percent price cuts at the entry-level, standalone segment. Prices of top-of-the-line models are projected to remain within the $300 to $500 range.

Jingyou's PDA batteries range from $2.50 to $15. It has a monthly production capacity of 100,000 units, shipping an average of 50,000 units monthly.

RPS's XDA Mini case is priced at $1.50, with a minimum order of 500 units. Its car charger ranges from $1.60 to $2.

A 2-in-1 brass stylus is priced $1.50.

Sharper's PDA backup charger is priced at $2.80.