Someone is certainly using them, because overall sales of handheld software in U.S. retail channels tripled to 900,000 titles sold in 2001, up from 225,000 titles sold in 2000. Obviously, handheld usage is expanding well beyond personal information management. Palm handhelds are gaining even wider popularity when it comes to performing all manner of business and other productivity functions, gaming, and document reading.

According to NPDTechworld (at http://www.npdtechworld.com), a provider of market information, Palm OS based applications accounted for more than 97 percent of handheld software titles sold in the United States last year. Since software drives hardware, software sales are a good indicator of hardware sales, which supports the generally acknowledged fact that Palm handhelds dominate the marketplace.

Revenues up
Palm's recent success was further supported by the company's March 21 report that Palm's revenues of $292.7 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2002, ended March 1, were up 1 percent from the $290.6 million reported in the preceding fiscal quarter. While this is down from the comparable period last year, it's Palm's third consecutive quarter of improved financial results, suggesting that the economic slowdown that has hurt businesses of all kinds may be easing off.

In total, Palm reported pro forma net loss--excluding the effects of special excess inventory and related costs/benefit, amortization of goodwill and intangible assets, purchased in-process technology, separation costs, and restructuring charges--totaled $14.0 million, or $0.02 per share. This compares with pro forma net loss of $36.6 million, or $0.06 per share, reported in the second quarter of fiscal year 2002 and pro forma net income of $9.3 million, or $0.02 per share, for the third quarter of fiscal year 2001.

Actual net income for the third fiscal quarter, calculated in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, was $2.9 million, or $0.01 per share, compared with a net loss of $25.2 million for the second quarter of fiscal year 2002 and a net loss of $1.9 million, or $0.00 per share, for the third quarter of fiscal year 2001.