With worldwide sales in handheld devices in their third consecutive year of decline, Palm is turning its eye to China which has become the largest market in the Asia-Pacific, outside Japan.
Despite its late entry in April, the California-based company is the leading multinational handheld supplier in the mainland, according to International Data Corp (IDC).
'Palm has shown impressive growth, garnering a 5 per cent share of handheld shipments in China in just three months,' said Bryan Ma, senior manager of personal systems research at IDC.
Hewlett-Packard and Taiwanese original equipment manufacturer Mitac each captured a 1 per cent share of China's handheld market in the second quarter of this year.
Although low-priced domestic brands such as HiTech and Min Ren that run on proprietary operating systems still dominate the sector, mainland buyers were disappointed by the lack of innovation, Mr Ma said.
This disappointment contributed to a 50 per cent contraction in handheld shipments in the second quarter of this year from the same period a year earlier.