Comments on: Light at the End of the Tunnel: 7 Things We Need From Nova

The Treo 800w actually has a more powerful CPU than the Treo Pro. In many benchmarks, the TI Omap crushes a Qualcomm cpu simply due to the better DSP hardware in it (same as the graphics king N95) versus the QCPU, and Q's badly written multimedia drivers.

It's just too bad Palm went with the 3D/gpu-less TI OMAP cpu for the 800w, and hasn't really developed a good WM polish to go with it.

Palm III -> Sony NR610C -> Sony NR70 -> Sony NX80 -> Palm T|X -> HTC Kaiser -> HTC Fuze

There are two crowds to please here. You're right that it will take more than a nice screen to get new Palm users. But, the article does a nice job discussing what it will take to keep long time users from finally giving up on Palm and moving on. I like the iPhone, but can't switch carriers to get it. Something like the iPhone running the Palm OS on Verizon would go a long way toward keeping me in the the Palm camp. The fact that it has a nice screen along with WiFi, GPS, integrated music player, a good browser, and compatibility with my current Palm apps would help to seal the deal.

David
Palm III> Palm IIIx> Palm IIIc> Sony T615> Sony T665> Sony TH55> Palm TX

How about promiscuity? Maybe Nova phones should come with a little Bluetooth dongle and software which can browse and control your iPod while listening to through Bluetooth headphones, streaming music and video to the Treo? It would allow users to leverage their existing gadgets stop them from automatically switching to an iPhone when their iPod gets old. While I've seen products that do this already, they all seem expensive and clunky to me.

Screw convergence
Palm III->Visor Deluxe->Visor Platinum->Visor Prism->Tungsten E->Palm LifeDrive->Palm TX
Visor Pro+VisorPhone->Treo 180g->Treo 270->Treo 600->Treo 680->T-Mobile G1
http://mind-grapes.blogspot.com/

I only sync my Centro every other week, but I still think it's a very important part of the package - especially in the consumer (sorry, "prosumer" - what the heck does that word mean, anyway?) market Palm says they're targeting, where you might have folks downloading fresh media every other day. Plus, it's damn handy being able to move all your contacts etc. from your old device to your new one when you decide to upgrade.

Also, if Palm are going to give the Foleo "mobile companion" concept another shot, they'll definitely need some intelligent syncing software.

As for a timeline - the sooner the better. Like bosco says, it's really only stuff that will put them on a par with where their competitors are today. I'd say Colligan's "devices by mid-2009" promise seems about right. Although who knows what Google, Apple, RIM, Microsoft et al. are going to come out with in the meantime...

>>>I think the notion of syncing to a desktop pc is now dead. Instead, data will now be synced to an Internet data center, just like my bookmarks in Firefox.

Yeah, where the Feds never have to tell you they've gained a warrant to invade your privacy - because it's not *your* property they've gotten into. Eejit.

It's all about choice. If you want to sync online, the option should be there. If you want to keep it all private on your desktop, that should be catered for too.

I suspect we'll see something along the lines of that MyPalm beta service they had going awhile back.

I don't believe that CrunchGear story one bit.

I will reiterate my skepticism of Palm showing any actual new hardware at CES. And if they do, it'll be Nova running on a Treo Pro. EVDO Rev. A or HSPA, wi-fi, GPS, all of stuff Garnet cannot do, but nothing spectacularly new over what the Pro does already. Just a different OS.

Of course, regardless of what the new Nova hardware is going to ultimately look like, it's bound to be huge improvement over the FrankenGarnet Centro & aged Treos we have now. But I am sadly afraid that unless you are a Sprint user, you won't get any Nova-lovin'. I'm tethered to Verizon so that's going to hamper my chances of getting a Nova device. Look at this way: T-Mob has historically never been a Palm supporter and has not had a Palm product of ANY kind since the Treo 600. Verizon dragged their feet in carrying the 650, 700wx, 755p, and the Centro and passed completely on the 800w and (supposedly) the CDMA Treo Pro. Not a good sign, especially when combined with the rumblings that Verizon is gonna can all Palm products regardless of OS. Alltel's gonna be part of Verizon officially in just a few days so we can write them off. That leaves AT&T and Sprint domestically. AT&T passed on the most compelling piece of Palm hardware in years (Treo Pro) and AT&T remains iPhone-centric so THAT'S not a good sign either.

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

>>>I know, I am only one of five people in America who would buy it.

Maybe I'd be sixth.

Palm are still keen to target the international market, and I reckon that means we'll see a GSM Nova device early in the piece. After all, that was one of the big reasons for moving to a new OS - simultaneous voice/data capability.

Ya need to read before posting...

OK, here we go again, with a TESTED tinyurl:

http://tinyurl.com/7hxxae

Deal or No Deal?

Another HTC-esque imaginative rendering/mockup:

http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2009/01/04/say-hi-to-the-itreo.html

Speculation that it will debut on Sprint (but of COURSE it will!):

http://www.gearlog.com/2009/01/ces_2009_palms_new_nova_phone.php

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

>>>Just that all that had already been posted hours earlier...

Some of us sleep. Zzzzzz

> == "* Nova will integrate into Web-based social networks."
>
> We do not know this.

We might not know it about Palm's Nova, but Apple just announced at Macworld their iLife app that does this.

Guess some of Palm's potential steam just got let out, huh?

No,the clients are not the interesting thing - the automatic recognition of faces internal to a myriad photos and THAT combined with, say, Facebook IS new and, IMHO, VERY interesting!

1)The candy-bar Palm ain't dead, it's just tired. Every single phone Palm has put out since the Treo 650 has looked near-identical. Palm need to shake up their image a bit, get people to notice them again. One quick way to do that is eye-catching new hardware designs.

2)you may use the Centro more as a business tool, but Palm says they're going after consumers/"prosumers", who use these things as toys as well as phones. So a good media solution is absolutely essential for that.

3)I don't think sync is dead. Far from it. We may use it less, but that doesn't mean it's still not important. We all carry massive amounts of information around with us nowadays, more than ever before, and simple ways to transfer that between the myriad number of computers people own is critical. Maybe this means online sync is needed. That's what I meant by "choice" - any modern sync solution should work just about any way you want it.

The one person (that I know) whos company made the switch from Treos to Blackberries wishes that he could go back. The people that I know who started out with BBs or winmob devices love their devices and wouldn't switch. I know only one person who drinks the Apple Kool Aid. He took the day off to stand in line for an iPhone.

PALM should create a world phone.

It already has, it's called the Treo Pro.

By the way GSM stands for Global System for Mobile Communictions.

AT&T the largest carrier in the US seem to make some use of it, as do T-mobile. The UMTS 3G networks they use fall under the GSM description even though ironically, UMTS is technically based on CDMA.

Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital. Aaron Levenstein