Comments on: No Palm Processor or Screen Resolution Changes Anytime Soon

Writing On Your Palm is reporting that Ted Ladd, Palm Evangelist, recently disclosed that Palm isn't intending to leave the DragonBall chip to move to the StrongARM family of chips until sometime in 2002.

Mr. Ladd also said that Palm intends to stay with the 160x160 screen resolution for "the foreseeable future". They are concerned about compatibility with the huge number of already-created apps that were written with that screen resolution in mind. They are considering switching to a 160x240 screen with the Graffiti area used for screen display when needed, though this isn't planned anytime soon.

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No changes for Palm!?

I.M. Anonymous @ 10/19/2000 2:07:30 PM #
How does Palm expect to keep up with competition if there are no changes to screen or cpu? I find that is hard to believe. Do they think releasing a color PalmV with a SD slot is going to do it? We know price will be an issue and there is a lot of other devices now coming into the market to spend you're money on. Microsoft too will push their devices even further and be more advanced than a Palm. Simplicity is for m100 users not their longterm Palm users who want more.

I sold my Palmpilot Pro 2mb on ebay and couldn't find another Palm b/c they were all over priced. Also nothing has changed dramaticlly with the OS anyway. So I kept an open mind and tried a WinCE device. My Philips Nino (real cheap$$$) does more than any Palm can new or old. It's not as bad as everyone says it is after all. Sorry Palm, but I have a better device now and more money in my pocket.

RE: No changes for Palm!?
I.M. Anonymous @ 10/19/2000 2:51:12 PM #
Palm management is arrogant and stupid. Not a good combination.

RE: No changes for Palm!?
I.M. Anonymous @ 10/19/2000 3:08:26 PM #
IMHO, Palm is doing these things the right way. There entire business is built on consistent, reliable products and customer loyalty supported by a huge developer base. Any changes must be carefully planned and flawlessly executed. While I am no hardware or software expert, I imagine that significant hardware changes could wreak havoc on backward compatability.

I suspect that one reason Windows CE and Pocket PC share is so much smaller that Palm's is that fact that Microsoft and partners have made a number of significant OS and hardware changes over a short period of time leaving users with no real upgrade path and obsolete software.

Palm didn't say that they are ignoring the requirement for faster more capable devices. They simply said that the timeline is a bit longer than some people may be comfortable with.

In the meantime, Handspring has just announced a 33 Mhz Dragonball product. TRG is hinting at a vastly more readable B&W screen. These licensees are working hard to extend the functionality of the device and the OS while maintaining the core simplicity that has made the platform the success it is today. This is consistent with Palm's strategy. Seems smart to me.

RE: No changes for Palm!?
I.M. Anonymous @ 10/19/2000 8:34:01 PM #
I'm in the market for a TRG Pro. Is the current screen that bad for reading? Is it backlit?

BTW, Compaq has just released a gray-scale iPaq which unfortunately is not available in the USA. I'm guessing the price will be very close to that of the Palm V and it has 16MB with expandability options. If Compaq can bring the price down to this level then the future doesn't look too good for Palm.

RE: No changes for Palm!?
I.M. Anonymous @ 10/19/2000 8:45:52 PM #
TRG is planning to release a new PDA in early 2001. Here is a quote from someone who e-mailed them for information:

"There is a new PDA from TRG Products coming out early 2001. Unfortunately, all I can tell you is that it is not color. The screen will not display colors. It will be a very improved high contrast screen."

The current screen is basically the same one you will find on a Palm IIIxe or any other late model Palm for that matter. I don't know how TRG will be improving the screen (resolution, contrast or both) but it should be interesting.


RE: No changes for Palm!?
I.M. Anonymous @ 10/20/2000 6:57:46 PM #
Wow, after I started the comments for this article post, I didn't realize how many people would respond and create such a divide b/w Palm and WinCE users. This is like PC's and Apple users all over again.

Bottom line is we're all different individuals, with different needs. As we all have read many articles before on comparisons (example: www.palmguru.com has one right now) they all came to the conclusion that users' needs play an important part and there's no right or wrong. So there's no need for bashing.

I'm still interested in Palm news, and that's why I stay around my favorite sites. Just b/c I change devices, doesn't mean that I don't care anymore. If I buy an Apple computer tomorrow, I won't stop using a PC.

Can't we all just get along? (ha ha) :)


Someone has their head in their *?*,;-)(&!!!!

bellsouth @ 10/19/2000 3:13:26 PM #
Looks like my next PDA won't be running the Palm OS!

More pics of Handsprings new Prizm.

The Future not so bright anymore I suppose

I.M. Anonymous @ 10/19/2000 3:46:41 PM #
I always loved the Palm devices until I met up with my new iPAQ. I'm now a devoted PocketPC advocate though up until the above post I always hoped Palm would move to ARM based processors and higher resolution screens shortly so I could migrate back.
In my opinion this will hurt Palm. Right now the average PDA buyer is buying Palms because that's what they've seen and understand, it won't be long though before the first time buyers become second and third time buyers and set their sights on something more powerful, not to mention the fact that Windows CE is developing rapidly in features and ease of use. I would wager Palm might release an ARM based "Power Users" Palm if they see themselves about to lose alot of market share and indeed I hope it's the case.

-Berylium

Screen Res option?

I.M. Anonymous @ 10/19/2000 4:39:07 PM #
Couldn't the next generation screens by 320x320 and just have the OS automatically double the widths/heights of existing 160x160 apps?



RE: Screen Res option?
I.M. Anonymous @ 10/19/2000 8:46:40 PM #
In theory, yes.

In practice -- it would be difficult to do this well. Well-behaved apps could be marked as high-rez friendly, which would have things still be laid out on a 160x160 grid, but using higher resolution drawing primitives to actually draw the UI elements. Unclean apps would have to be run in true 160x160 mode with the hardware doing the bit doubling in both directions. New apps could be HR OK, taking full advantage of the bigger screen. That's a lot of coordination, but I think it could be done in the next 12 months.

The bigger issue: how expensive are 320x320 displays with twice the pixel resolution of the Palm displays? Especially color ones.

RE: Screen Res option?
I.M. Anonymous @ 10/20/2000 4:07:28 AM #
How about this: Could you program the palm to run in some kind of 'Classic' mode like the "Classic' mode in the Apple OS X beta? This is emulation, but could the old OS apps be channeled only to those pixels, leaving the extra screenspace to function just like 'old' graphiti area? Maybe this is in the works, but Palm is just being realistic and cautious and maybe even holding out, preparing to surprise everyone? I hope some senario is developing to eventually get more resolution, but really the new pictures of the Visor Prism looks sharp and good enough for me. I have tried the Win CE pen input, and honestly prefer the writing area to not be lit. It is less distracting. I also put a strip of scotch tape on this area, which greatly improves the control and feel while writing, and the tape would obstruct the view. I really would hate to not be able to feel I'm writing on paper instead of glass, and the recognition is more precise. i think the main problem has been a lack in the number programs that utilize color on the Palm platform effectively, so the transition to color has been far behind Windows. (What about a supercharged drawing program, that can magnify and draw in greater resolutions than the device itself can display, allowing small details of large works to be done and later viewed in high detail on a desktop machine? The new Visor has 65,000 colors, right? How many did Michelangelo have? Imagine the potential!) I really like the Palm OS, I really think it is simple, customizable, and clear. I hope people dont get the idea that bigger is better. Really, better is better.

Quit yer bitchin...

I.M. Anonymous @ 10/19/2000 5:23:00 PM #
Tell ya what, guys... if all the whiners on this forum and all of the Palm forums on the Internet combined switched over to Pocket PC tomorrow, it would neither hurt Palm nor result in so much as a blip in market share for Pocket PC.

Palm knows what its doing; Microsoft does not, and never has. Make your bed where you may, but you'll be the one who'll have to lie in it.

RE: Quit yer bitchin...
bellsouth @ 10/19/2000 6:11:36 PM #
The above statement is true, but Palm is falling into Microsoft's ways all too quickly. Think about how many versions of Windows have come out since 3.11 and then think about how much better they would be if they would not have been backwards compatible and would have been rewritten.
I think the way for Palm to go is to create a PDA based around what most are asking for in this forum and at the same time continue with their current line. Another words let the consumers and developers decide which one they will stick with. IMHO they should have done this instead of spending all of their money on M100 development.

More pics of Handsprings new Prizm.
RE: Quit yer bitchin...
CKMOOSE @ 10/20/2000 3:47:17 AM #
Mac did exactly what you're proposing and almost killed itself. You can't build a huge base and then change everything. People and developers (not to say developers aren't people) will not follow a company all over the map just to stay current.
More recently the G4 cube comes to mind.
Palm has, thus far, proved that it has a pretty good grasp on how to make end users and developers happy with its products.
As someone else has mentioned, this is only the opinion of a "Palm Evangelist", don't mark Palm down and out before the dust settles.
I remember several months ago a my local PUG hearing from a Palm expert that there "wouldn't be a PV color any time in the near future due to the technical difficulties", yet the buzz is that there will be a color PV before the end of the year.
I, for one will stick with Palm OS until I find an iPaq that's anywhere near as user friendly as a Palm device. Every Pocket PC unit I've tried has just ended in frustration. I'm quite computer literate and I still find the interface cluttered and confusing.
Well, that's enough of my ranting for now.

RE: Quit yer bitchin...
I.M. Anonymous @ 10/20/2000 2:38:26 PM #
Ha ha Palm doesn't have a clue and never has. Tthey can't even make a modem that works right. Their parent company 3com is going down and Palm will follow. They just got lucky because they inherited Jeff Hawkins when they bought U.S. Robotics and thats how they got Palm. They haven't done anything right since then. Minimal upgrades, poor quality control, and lousy tech support.

RE: Quit yer bitchin...
I.M. Anonymous @ 10/20/2000 2:41:56 PM #
Micrososft is one of the most successful companies ever if not THE most successful. But you think they don't know what they are doing. I'll bet Bill gates is shaning in his boots. On the other hand 3com is one of the worst managed and least succsful networking companies but somehow they know what they are doing more than Micrsoft. You need to get your head checked.

RE: Quit yer bitchin...
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/28/2000 6:42:10 PM #
Funny but I seem to remember a company called NETSCAPE (who?) made a similar mistake with regard to Microsoft.

Palm is arrogant, overpriced and headed up by a bunch of morons. The fact that the PALM Modem is shit and 3Com owns PALM proves that.

As Palm shoots but yet another bullet into their foot.

I.M. Anonymous @ 10/19/2000 6:03:44 PM #
I'm a Visor user and love the Palm OS. I think it does well for being little more than a glorified calculator OS. It helps manages my affairs as I need them and offers other small functions which are both helpful and needful. Though the Palm OS will never be much more then this. It will not amount to be a "true pocket or Palm PC". It will only be an over pushed, under powered OS. If Palm ever gets there head out of their false sence of security and actually try to make up for the years of lack of inovation, they will find themselve to far behind the market needs and wants of today.
(Point of Fact, there are more medical students who use Palm devices then any other PDA. Most medical students do not have enough memory on their Palms to load half of the software many of them feel they need. Palm could easily add more memory addressing the EVER EXPANDIBILITY needs of todays user, but has not, nor give any path to upgrade, but to buy a Palm device from another licensee which has this capibility. This is not smart business, but show arrogants to users needs, not wants).

So to the rest of you die hards out there...Go ahead..Make your bed where you want..(to qoute from another)..The market will sort out the wants verses the need, but I will place my bet with the Pocket PC.



RE: As Palm shoots but yet another bullet into their foot.
I.M. Anonymous @ 10/19/2000 6:50:56 PM #
>>So to the rest of you die hards out there<<

LOL. If anything is dying hard, it's Windows CE. Microsoft simply has too much hubris to give it the coup de grace it deserves.


>>The market will sort out the wants verses the need<<

It already has.


>>I will place my bet with the Pocket PC.<<

I hope it's not your life savings.

RE: As Palm shoots but yet another bullet into their foot.
I.M. Anonymous @ 10/19/2000 10:58:15 PM #
Don't feel tooooooooo bad that you still play yesterdays toys.. I mean didn't the technology incline complained about the same thing when people were leaving DOS for an OS a bit more powerful? LOL.. yeah the market will sort it out..just keep in eye during the next year as Palm pulls the triger again.. In case if you have been living under a rock... you should check out some th feature winCE 3.0 has... and if you don't see the power of a 32 bit OS with multitasking can do for you..then I have a nice little Etch-a-Scatch that should be right up your alley.. oh and if thats too much for you, then perhaps a bag of marbles will work for you.
:-)


Since when did all these WinCE users hang out on Palm sites?
I.M. Anonymous @ 10/20/2000 12:14:08 AM #
T R O L L S !

RE: As Palm shoots but yet another bullet into their foot.
I.M. Anonymous @ 10/20/2000 12:17:21 AM #
"I mean didn't the technology incline complained about the same thing when people were leaving DOS for an OS a bit more powerful? "

Oh, spare me the attempts at lame analogies. Nobody who uses Windows ever left DOS behind. Give me a fucking break. Why not compare the PDA market to something else...say, the automobile market? That's always a popular one. Or, how about the breakfast cereal market? Or perhaps feminine hygiene products? They're all about as relevant...

RE: Since when did all these WinCE users hang out on Palm s
Ed @ 10/20/2000 9:52:41 AM #
I have to admit, I don't really understand the need for people who have dropped the Palm in favor of WinCE to still hang around Palm sites acting smug about their decision. If WinCE works for you, great. There are some good WinCE sites you should be looking at. I suggest http://www.pdabuzz.com/ for starters.

---
Plenipotentiary
Palm Infocenter

Jesus Christ!!!

I.M. Anonymous @ 10/19/2000 7:06:31 PM #
What the hell is wrong with these idiots at Palm? Why don't they just hand the PDA market to Microsoft?

Carl Yankowski should have stuck to what he did best...sell athletic shoes!

Take it with a grain of salt

I.M. Anonymous @ 10/19/2000 8:42:26 PM #
Palm is going to announce significant new technology this year at PalmSource, from what I can tell. I wouldn't take all the comments of this evangelist completely seriously. I don't think Palm would haphazardly announce anything big at a PUG meeting -- nothing he indicated wasn't already public. Wait until December, then complain.

Fine by me!

I.M. Anonymous @ 10/19/2000 9:27:06 PM #
I for one do not want to sacrifice the size, weight and battery life of my Vx in return for a faster CPU or a bigger, *more expensive* screen. Evolutionary not revolutionary. The new Visors are using the Dragonball VZ processor - so the next Palm-badged gear will also be using this. It runs at 33MHz, almost twice as fast as the current crop. And the first person who throws out a WinCE CPU speed to match this gets a kick in the head for their stupidity in not understanding a thing about processors and dumb-arse MHz comparisons across totally different architectures!

All you guys who dumped for WinCE are just loving the battery life on those babies huh? :-P



RE: Fine by me!
I.M. Anonymous @ 10/19/2000 11:07:32 PM #
That's write.... So please read about the Etch-a-Skatch comment about... I'm sure you can't compare the speed of twisitng the knobs to the processor on the Palms as well..



RE: Fine by me!
I.M. Anonymous @ 10/20/2000 12:16:07 AM #
Wow...such intelligent commentary. It's no wonder you chose a WinCE device. Sheesh!

RE: Fine by me!
I.M. Anonymous @ 10/20/2000 2:46:34 PM #
I have a Visor Prism with the new processor. Its much slower than my Ipaq and has much lower battery life. it also bulkier. Handsprings own web site confirms this. You might want to know what you're talking about before you post next time.

This also just might be basic strategy

I.M. Anonymous @ 10/20/2000 6:25:29 PM #
I think it would be a mistake for a company to tout really sexy technology too far in advance. It would then run the risk that people would hold off current purchases because they figure they'll "wait a while more for the good stuff," either because they already have a workable (but not cutting-edge) PDA or because they don't have one and are trying to figure out whether to make the leap. I wouldn't be surprised if Palm goes to a better screen or a faster processor much earlier than 2002 -- just don't expect them to cannibalize current sales before the new product actually hits the street.

RE: This also just might be basic strategy
Ed @ 10/21/2000 9:42:12 AM #
You could be correct and Palm is simply playing its cards close to its chest. But in doing so, there is also a danger of driving people who want more than the current crop of Palms can deliver into the PocketPC camp (to mix my metaphors). I know, more isn't always better, but there is a perception than PPCs deliver more than Palms, even if they aren't as well made. Telling these high-end users what is coming might keep them from defecting before Palm can get their next generation to Market.

---
Plenipotentiary
Palm Infocenter
RE: This also just might be basic strategy
macmaverick @ 10/21/2000 10:23:37 AM #
The Palm line's internal guts are roughly standardised making it easier for developers to develop. The Palm, considering that the V series cramms MORE than a Professional Pilot into a case that is less thick, makes this cutting edge already.

--And he said, "Ah, the Palm!"

Re: Quit Yer Bitchin'

Sabrina @ 10/21/2000 4:00:31 PM #
Point of fact: 3Com *no longer* owns Palm. Hasn't since early this year.
If you're going to bitch about Palm on a Palm site and root for the Evil Empire, you might as well get simple facts straight.

Screen Resolutign

Dec @ 10/21/2000 10:37:16 PM #
Why can't the screen resolution be changed? Surely the next logical move is to a resolution of 320 x 320. This should allow the form factor to be preserved (one of the Palms winning points) and allow for easier backwards compatibility. Don't know why a res. of 160 x 240 is mooted ...

I sure hope Handspring continues to innovate!

I.M. Anonymous @ 10/22/2000 1:26:15 PM #
Palm's strategy has just totally turned me off. No StrongArm to 2002? I was hoping it was going to appear in the next 6 months! I hope Handspring continues to work hard, improving Palm's products and still keeping compatibility for the developer's sake.

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