Comments on: Palm Opens New Retail Stores
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RE: doing something is better than nothing...
And I, too, would sure like to see new product - especially if it's something that makes me want hop off the Metro at Reagan National to take a look.
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PalmPilot Pro (1997) -> III (1998) -> Vx (1999) -> m500 (2001) -> m515 (2002) -> ???
RE: doing something is better than nothing...
That's not TOO bad for Palm thus far in '06. I do agree that now is THE time to announce & ship new product, even if it's not much more than a mild refresh of the PDA line before the new Treos start to trickle out this summer.
Anyone see the almost certainly a hoax antenna-less COBALT BLUE Lowrider shots over at TreoCentral? It looks like someone painted the backside of a Treo 600 and cleverly PhotoShopped the antenna out of the image.
Pilot 1000-->Pilot 5000-->PalmPilot Pro-->IIIe-->Vx-->m505-->T|T-->T|T2-->T|C-->T|T3-->T|T5-->TX
RE: doing something is better than nothing...
Aren't most of the retail shops @ Reagan past security? Ie; you can't get to them unless you are a ticketholder and/or have a security pass?
Ryan;
It might be a good article for PIC to have a bunch of us regulars who are all around the country go into a couple of the Palm retail kiosks/stores incognito and list our experiences there. It might help illustrate the huge disparity in store staff experience/knowledge and, honestly, help Palm (or whatever mobile tech retail entity it is that runs the stores for Palm) go about better training & equipping the store personnel.
I still maintain that the real way to draw traffic into those stores is to offer, essentially, a gimmick. Some limited edition model such as an 8gb instead of the usual(?) 6gb LifeDrive2 or a black Treo with real aluminum accents or something. Just have it available only on Palm.com and in the company stores.
Pilot 1000-->Pilot 5000-->PalmPilot Pro-->IIIe-->Vx-->m505-->T|T-->T|T2-->T|C-->T|T3-->T|T5-->TX
RE: doing something is better than nothing...
-THIS is exactly why it's usually pointless to visit the "PALM" corporate stores: there's really nothing interesting to see there, the prices are full retail, and it's hit or miss (too often "miss") that you'll find anyone with any deep knowledge of the product line.
Extremely rarely you will see a third-party accessory or software, but they're usually "out of stock" on them anyway. From what I recall most people buying new Palms are repeat buyers, so it's not like people "don't know" what Palms are. Basically Palm is "preaching to the choir," so why not offer things in the store that "the choir" will find worth buying, rather than the same dregs you can find in nearly any Staples Express store?
RE: doing something is better than nothing...
How many Palm company stores have you been into? Are the salespeople utterly clueless ("gold USB 1.1 cables are just as fast as USB 2.0") or just moderately so ("The LifeDrive's HD has more storage space than any SD card on the market")?
I've just been in two Palm stores...one was one of the newest stores (had the "Palm" logo in orange) and had a pretty decent selection of travel bags & 3rd party stuff. The other one was a kiok right when they started opening them. The clerk was completely clueless and actually suggested I seek out a Franklin Covey store for a better selection of accessories.
Pilot 1000-->Pilot 5000-->PalmPilot Pro-->IIIe-->Vx-->m505-->T|T-->T|T2-->T|C-->T|T3-->T|T5-->TX
RE: doing something is better than nothing...
You can check their shopping map to see the location of the Palm store.
http://mwaa.com/reagan/shopping_dining_3/shopping_dining_map_2
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PalmPilot Pro (1997) -> III (1998) -> Vx (1999) -> m500 (2001) -> m515 (2002) -> ???
RE: doing something is better than nothing...
I agree with the impression of "cluelessness" from many Palm store employees. When the local Staples chimps have more knowledge and less sales pressure about Palm's products than Palm's store staff, that's not a very good sign for long-term viability.
At 2 of the kiosks I wanted to try one of the few third-party cases, and was flat-out refused the honor because "they are out of stock." They had the demo on display, but apparently they wanted to be hostile to their known customers (I had my Treo right there) because they didn't have the prospect of an immediate sale.
When Palm's representatives work so hard to wreck what's left of their goodwill for apparent selfish interest, it doesn't seem the stores are doing much positive for the overall Palm strategy. I'll have to check out another store soon to see if anything has changed in recent months.
RE: doing something is better than nothing...
To date the best Palm retail experience I've ever had was in a Staples a couple of years ago when I bought a Zire 31 as a gift. I "played dumb" and asked all of the wrong questions. The sales guy (probably in his late 20s- early 30s) was courteous, helpful, non-pushy and didn't even try to upsell me to the T|E...he said he was certain that the Zire 31 was the best compromise between the feeble Zire 21 and the T|E.
I actually have bought (on two separate occasions) stuff at the Philly or Pittsburgh airports (can't remember which) where they have a mini-Staples within one of the concourses. This was pre-Palm store, of course, but I got a car charger & spare pack of styli for an overseas trip and then bought a MMC ROM games card to kill time when my flight was delayed and I didn't have a laptop or a gameboy with me. For those sorts of impulse purchaes the stores (Palm company stores, mini Staples etc) are a very good idea as long as their prices aren't too stratospheric.
Pilot 1000-->Pilot 5000-->PalmPilot Pro-->IIIe-->Vx-->m505-->T|T-->T|T2-->T|C-->T|T3-->T|T5-->TX
RE: doing something is better than nothing...
You can't miss the bright orange Palm logo!
Pilot 1000-->Pilot 5000-->PalmPilot Pro-->IIIe-->Vx-->m505-->T|T-->T|T2-->T|C-->T|T3-->T|T5-->TX
Only people who travel by air use palms
If palm is serious about retail opportunities, then they need to think about major malls and have the stores staffed by people who have a clue. When I want a laugh, I go to the big box stores and listen to the staff try to sell handhelds or answer the questions of the customers.
I'm still waiting for Palm to get a clue and do a series of workshops around the country at events for women. Women approach technology differently and some are still intimidated by it. They often need a different approach to it.
Does Palm have a clue about other potential customer bases, I think not?
RE: Only people who travel by air use palms
It'd probably help Palm to aggressively try to slow the erosion on that market as well as reach some newer markets as well. Palm's declining "fleet wide" battery life probbly isn't helping matters. Come out with a new Palm with an SD slot and the ability to go 3-4 days on a single charge and there are many profssionals who would snatch it up. All it'd take would be a T|E2 style unit with a Treo 650 or larger battery and some honest-to-goodness powper management/underclocking software standard.
Pilot 1000-->Pilot 5000-->PalmPilot Pro-->IIIe-->Vx-->m505-->T|T-->T|T2-->T|C-->T|T3-->T|T5-->TX
RE: Only people who travel by air use palms
You have to wonder, does palm have a marketing strategy, if so it's pretty pathetic. I'd welcome the chance to to tell the CEO, what they're doing wrong.
RE: Only people who travel by air use palms
Pilot 1000-->Pilot 5000-->PalmPilot Pro-->IIIe-->Vx-->m505-->T|T-->T|T2-->T|C-->T|T3-->T|T5-->TX
RE: Only people who travel by air use palms
RE: Only people who travel by air use palms
While Palm may have ignored the Library market, other licensees at least had them in their sights, so its a shame the PalmSource dynamics pushed them all out.
Remember that this was years back now, but note the Digital Library Assistant on this HandEra page.
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doing something is better than nothing...