Comments on: Worldwide Smartphone Sales Growth Slowing
"The current economic climate is negatively impacting sales of higher end devices," said Roberta Cozza, principal analyst at Gartner. "Going forward, we should expect the smartphone device market to continue to grow but at a slower pace. Although leading mobile operators are subsidising more smartphones, to reach lower prices they tie the device to two year contracts with monthly data plan rates which remain too expensive for the mainstream user."
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RE: and you thought FrankenGarnet was bad!
Give RIM some time. I guarantee they'll have released more ROM updates & improvements in 6 months than Palm has released for Garnet in the past three years.
Really, it comes down to choosing between A. An intuitive, easy to use OS with fantasic PIM apps but hampered by unreliability and a dearth of modern features (Garnet 5.4.9) OR
B. A not-so-intutive OS with a solid set of modern features and great e-mail but hampered by poor PIM apps and unreliability (BB OS 4.).
Pilot 1000->Pilot 5000->PalmPilot Pro->IIIe->Vx->m505->T|T->T|T2->T|C->T|T3->T|T5->Zodiac 2->TX->Verizon Treo 700P->Verizon Treo 755p
RE: and you thought FrankenGarnet was bad!
Windows Mobile, Symbian and RIM are now in the same canoe with Garnet (what strange bedfellows) - they are dinosaurs trying to remain relevant in a world increasingly populated with intelligent life. Nokia and Windows Mobile are bleeding market share - RIM is desperately putting lipg loss on its antiquated pig, while iPhone races ahead and a wave of Android phones are due to hit the market next year.
Palm isn't the only company in trouble.
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Web Designer,
Tech writer for weblogs inc. @ http://www.tuaw.com
RE: and you thought FrankenGarnet was bad!
well, my centro ain't fancy or pretty but it just "works". the phone and unlimited voice/data/text plan is cheap and effective. and i don't have to deal with the apple stigmata.
RE: and you thought FrankenGarnet was bad!
.
RE: and you thought FrankenGarnet was bad!
No, just the bullies on the playground.
The last known classic PDA user.
RE: and you thought FrankenGarnet was bad!
FrankenGarnet gained in OS market share, year over year. The two keys are design for usability first, and then a modern OS.
Centro's "success" is owed primarily to it's low cost - it's cheap and comes in a variety of colors. It competes in the feature phone space more than Smartphone. And from a fiscal stand the phone has become a stray torpedo, threatening to sink the company that launched it. The low margins Palm is getting on these handsets combined with an apathetic market for its premium devices (which are frankly duds running an OS that no one wants - WM) is driving the company ever further towards the abyss.
Ironically Palm, where Centro is concerned, is in precisely the same predicament Handspring was in with its Visor PDA. Worse still, Palm is repeating the same failed strategy that killed that company. Visor, like Centro, was fun, colorful, wildly popular, and bleeding them dry. Handspring burned through cash faster than Sarah Palin in Bloomindales just trying to remain afloat. When they couldn't make money selling cheap organizers, they bet the company's growth on higher margin premium devices that never took off (Visor Prism and Edge).
Palm has taken that page from Handspring's playbook with Treo Pro, which will result in epic fail.
At this point I see no hope for Palm. They're running out of time and money.
----
Web Designer,
Tech writer for weblogs inc. @ http://www.tuaw.com
RE: and you thought FrankenGarnet was bad!
Cannibalization of the Treo
Gekko @ 9/28/2007 5:42:51 PM #
I think this Centro could potentially cannibalize the Treo.
I'd buy it over any Treo. It's as good as any Treo in terms of specs, it's smaller/lighter, and it's A LOT cheaper.
RE: and you thought FrankenGarnet was bad!
$99 Centro = Low Margins/Low ASP/Commodity Hell
Gekko @ 10/29/2007 9:58:03 PM #
"You are headed for commodity hell if you don't have services." - Lou Gerstner
"Chasing revenue in a commodity business is really dumb." - Lou Gerstner
http://www.palminfocenter.com/news/9517/signs-of-a-centro-rally/
RE: and you thought FrankenGarnet was bad!
RE: and you thought FrankenGarnet was bad!
After months and months and months and months and months and months and months and months and months and months and even more months, *Foo Fighter* shows up HERE?!
WTF is up with that?!
RE: and you thought FrankenGarnet was bad!
David Beers
Senior Wireless Developer
MapQuest
www.pikesoft.com/blog
RE: and you thought FrankenGarnet was bad!
I'm not sure why in particular Foo says the Treo Pro will fail. It's certainly possible, but I do insist on giving the Pro its due: by all accounts it's the best Treo Palm's ever produced. Its big failing is not being carried on AT&T. I'd guess that's what Foo means. But if they could get it on there, and on Sprint/Verizon, then they'd be talking turkey.
RE: and you thought FrankenGarnet was bad!
ah...i miss the good old days...
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cervezas @ 8/27/2005 1:00:18 PM #
So you think Palm plans to just keep patching Garnet through 2009? Honestly, some of you guys are so afraid not to look cynical in this forum that you end up saying things that are downright stupid.
http://www.palminfocenter.com/comments/8042/
RE: and you thought FrankenGarnet was bad!
Pilot 1000->Pilot 5000->PalmPilot Pro->IIIe->Vx->m505->T|T->T|T2->T|C->T|T3->T|T5->Zodiac 2->TX->Verizon Treo 700P->Verizon Treo 755p
RE: and you thought FrankenGarnet was bad!
On top of that, the constricting Palm-conomy has combined with Palm closing up what little bit of the Palm ecosystem they contributed to (mypalm beta closure, Palm backup closure) + the woes of Palmgear/Pocketgear, no updates from Palm or Access to Palm Desktop, crummy developer tools, no support for developers or Palm for Palm OS-based handhelds or Treos (Google Maps, anyone?), no new killer Palm OS apps in at least a year etc etc etc) and you really get the picture that Palm's just trying to treat water as long as possible by churning out new Centro colors and endless spins on the same basic WinMob handset design that, as Foo said, nobody wants.
Heck, I see precious few WinMob handsets of ANY type nowadays, and that includes the latest Samsung & HTC hotness. M$ and their partners needed WinMob like yesterday. RIM is experiencing growing pains but is still overall in better shape than Palm, Nokia or Microosft in the smartphone game.
I see the industry basically shaking out to have RIM & Apple at the top, WinMob & Android remaining squarely 2nd tier, and everyone else (Palm & Nokia??) fighting over the slivers of the remaining marketshare.
Pilot 1000->Pilot 5000->PalmPilot Pro->IIIe->Vx->m505->T|T->T|T2->T|C->T|T3->T|T5->Zodiac 2->TX->Verizon Treo 700P->Verizon Treo 755p
RE: and you thought FrankenGarnet was bad!
come on. why even bother? how many more will they sell? an incremental upgrade would be like pissing into the ocean - it won't make a damn bit of difference. you guys with that damn 3.5mm jack request really crack me up. small tweaks won't move the market share needle.
RE: and you thought FrankenGarnet was bad!
Or is the Centro really the Treo Jr?
RE: and you thought FrankenGarnet was bad!
Apple to Sell IPhones in Wal-Mart Stores This Month (Update1)
By Connie Guglielmo
Dec. 7 (Bloomberg) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will become the second mass-market retail chain to start selling Apple Inc.'s iPhone, with two store representatives saying the world's largest retailer will carry two models of the Web-surfing handset this month.
Employees in the cell-phone departments at five California stores, contacted by phone today, said Wal-Mart will offer iPhones by the end of December. Employees are currently being trained on how to sell the device, all five said.
Analysts say Apple may offer a discontinued 4-gigabyte version through Bentonville, Arkansas-based Wal-Mart and sell it for $99. Apple currently sells two models at $199 and $299.
"A $99, Apple-branded cell phone is inevitable," said Shaw Wu, an analyst for Kaufman Brothers in San Francisco. "One of the key things Apple needs to do to drive broader iPhone adoption is to build a more complete product line" with low- end, mid-range and high-end products, Wu said in a Dec. 5 note.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=a4YIU21gLaSY#
RE: and you thought FrankenGarnet was bad!
Interesting news from Bloomberg though. I wonder if they mean "discontinued" 4GB as in the old EDGE version or the newer 3G version? I'd really think that this is gonna be a reduced-cost 3G iPhone. Didn't someone dig up some documentation proving that the materials cost of the 3G iPhone is the same or less than the first-gen model?
But is 4gigs of flash the only cost-cutting measure for the Wal-Mart version? Will they omit the wi-fi? The camera? Go with a cheaper/smaller screen/casing? This is a good move from Apple/AT&T/Wal-Mart's part, sure but not quite the same as the iPhone 3G debuting at $199 or even BestBuy stocking the iPhone.
The average Wal-mart shopper is likely looking for the best "free" dumbphone they can possibly get and/or a pre-paid job; the mandatory data plans attached to the iPhone will probably result in many of them being fondled but ultimately ignored at Wal-Mart. Still, it also might do wonders for WM's iPod Touch sales, especially if there's a Touch price cut in the works for early '09: "Look mommy, this one looks the same and don't require a monthly charge!"
Pilot 1000->Pilot 5000->PalmPilot Pro->IIIe->Vx->m505->T|T->T|T2->T|C->T|T3->T|T5->Zodiac 2->TX->Verizon Treo 700P->Verizon Treo 755p
RE: and you thought FrankenGarnet was bad!
I recently bought device with a rebate, etc etc etc. Submitted the paperwork and got approved for the rebate in very short order.
And then the email was received saying "Rebate approved, check mailed in 8 to 10 weeks".
8 to 10 weeks to cut a check?
RE: and you thought FrankenGarnet was bad!
Excising the camera would actually be a plus, as many security-conscious companies disallow phones with cameras. Apple is late on the ball with this.
RE: and you thought FrankenGarnet was bad!
Pilot 1000->Pilot 5000->PalmPilot Pro->IIIe->Vx->m505->T|T->T|T2->T|C->T|T3->T|T5->Zodiac 2->TX->Verizon Treo 700P->Verizon Treo 755p
[no title]
The fact that crappy old frankengarnet manages to remain in demand against the tons of money tossed at "smart" phones designed by Apple, Microsoft, Nokia, and Google ought to give people pause. It just works well and quick for this size platform, 12 years of programs are already created, it's easy and accessible to nearly anyone. The PalmOS is ancient and nowhere near as "advanced" as the other stuff, but it has a hell of a continuing purchaser base for something all the competitors call "obsolete." I'd rather have one of those dumb Centros than have to live with WinceMob's bloaty clutter everyday. C'mon, Palm - get your act together and start building on your strength - the OS and the Treo formfactor!
Paying my annual PDA update tax to Palm since 1997.
RE:
I had to find the article using the main page "full comments view", then had to click on the article and FIND your comment in order to read it and reply.
Well done!
Whatta game!
==========
However...
"Frankengarnet" is not in demand - sure, it might be Palm's top-selling OS but that is more credit to the el-cheapo Centro than demand for an OS - the users of Centros probably, in general, have zero clue about PalmOS and, in general I would bet, never even use half the built-in features of the Centro much less add applications.
The Best Smart Phone for Every Personality Type
The Best Smart Phone for Every Personality Type
Whether you're shopping for a road warrior or a technophobe this holiday season, there's a smart phone option that is sure to please. Here's a review of the possibilities...
http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/106260/Smart-Phones,-Smart-Choices
RE: Trouble in the (99-cent) App Store
Sweet!
Guess I'm living on the wrong coast.
RE: Trouble in the (99-cent) App Store
- http://tech.yahoo.com/news/nm/20081210/tc_nm/us_openhandset_2
and the cost of developers as noted above, what does this say about the number of developers that are going to jump on the Nova Linux bandwagon?
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and you thought FrankenGarnet was bad!
"My Storm was like something from a Stephen King novel: possessed of its own mind. Touching or selecting on the screen highlighted something totally unrelated. The lag in switching from horizontal to vertical almost made it seem that the screen was deciding its own when to shift."
http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/04/readers-react-to-david-pogues-review-of-the-blackberry-storm/?ref=personaltech