how about Apple bying Palm ?

...as this would add value to both parties

Just an idea...

I fail to see how that would add value to Apple.

If they buy PalmOne, that would be the epitomy of throwing money away at this point.

PalmSource has more potential, but it just doesn't seem like they're with it these days.

I think the PDA market is stagnating right now. It needs something revolutionary and new to break it out of its rut. I just don't see either of the Palm companies doing that.

I don't see much of a future for PDAs really. There will always be a demand for devices that have PDA functions, but standalone PDAs that do little else are yesterday's news. Everyone thinks of smart phones obviously, but I'm not sure that's really the future either.

I would rather Apple making their own line. If PalmOne ever goes under I would welcome Apple to take over. I'm sure the when the first Apple PDA comes out it would sell itself for being from Apple and there are very few alternatives between Palm OS and Winblows Mobile.[Linux isn't as well established] I wanted to get an iPod because its from Apple, not cause it was cool. Now everyone has it just cause its cool, 3rd and 4th generation iPod users suck.

suck, do we?

Sounds like you're sour 'cause I have my entire library wherever I go...

Don't let jealousy get the best of you!

I didn't buy a first gen iPod because they were ridiculously overpriced. Even the current iPods are overpriced, but they're not as ridiculously overpriced as the original ones were (considering the upgraded features). Frankly, I don't care if it's the greatest portable music player ever made, handed down by God himself. $400 for a portable music player is ludicrous. I've been tempted to pick up an iPod ever since they started selling the 20gig model for an almost reasonable price.

I've been stopped every time from actually plunking down the money by the same nagging feeling that taking my tunes with me just isn't worth that kind of cash, no matter how great the tune-carrying device is. I could buy a lot of really cool stuff for that kind of money. I could take a pretty decent vacation for that kind of money. I could go somewhere really fun with a good friend and take tons of pictures and have a load of great memories to keep with me for the rest of my life for that kind of money (I've had great vacations for less than that). I could furnish a large portion of my apartment for that kind of money. I could buy a mac mini for only slightly more money. I could buy one hell of a selection of CDs (higher quality audio, I don't care what people say about AAC or ITMS (which I admittedly buy from once in a while)).

Seriously, for that kind of coin, I could do a lot more than play music while walking.

And millions of people spend that much on a freaking walkman? No thanks.

I don't see what extra value buying either PalmOne or PalmSource wil bring to Apple:

- Apple knows how to design small devices with at least basic Personal Information Management (PIM) features, i.e. the iPod. Therefore, nothing to gain from PalmOne expertise.

- Apple has a scalable, UNIX based Operating System in the form of Darwin and Mac OS X. It's also still kept hold of the Newton PDA OS intellectual property so I can't see what PalmSource can bring to Apple either.

The only thing I can see Apple gaining in buying PalmOne is expertise in designing cellular devices, i.e. the Treo range with it's GSM/CDMA connectivity.

Instead of offering a new portable OS to the market (Palm, WinMob, symbian). They could offer a PDA from their own name, not buying out PalmOne or Palm Source. They would probably personalize it with the OS X look and add to the PIM suite. I've been hoping for Apple to become a POS liscense and make PDAs, but i doubt after the Newton they will never go into the market again.

With the 'scalability' of the newly-implemented h.264 codec, I wonder about apple putting out a digital media MACHINE, something to rival M$'s little player...

IF they do something like that, why not take it a step further and integrate PIM functionality? So, I don't discount the possibility. While more than likely NOT in the cards, they could be only a few steps away in short order, and the direction they are trying to take the ipod seems to fall in line with that (think ipod photo, guys and girls). So, maybe not %-wise a high chance, but I wouldn't rule it out completely, apple developing their own PDA-esque machine.

I think Apple realizes that the vast majority of PDA users use it as a reference device and not an input device. They read their PDA more than they edit the information contained in it, and those who do edit the info regularly could live without that since the input methods all tend to suck anyway when compared to good old pen & paper (personally, I carry a small notebook around and use that as my input device most of the time just because it's faster... I can process those notes into my Palm (or better yet, my PC with it's shiny keyboard) later).

Apple knows the biggest advantages of a PDA are keeping up-to-date synchronized information from your PC with you at all times without having to carry your PC around. The iPod can do that without modification (though a better screen would be appreciated). Apple could spend a lot of time and money developing a new PDA with some kind of text input method, but doing so would really be catering to a small sliver of the total market. PDA sales are languishing because most people don't need or want a PDA. They want some PDA functionality (who wouldn't?), but most phones and iPods have the bulk of those features covered.

Devices like the Treo have potential in the market if Palm can get the form factor down to something more attractive to the average joe (it's already doing pretty well without that, but it's still not a mainstream device). The rest of the PDA menagerie has a limited shelf life and is used primarily by gadget collectors and a very few consumers are willing to put up with the devices' shortcomings in exchange for the benefits.

Apple doesn't need this niche market. I don't think this niche market would be worth the expense to be honest. Apple is not bringing back the Newton. Apple is not buying Palm. Apple shouldn't get in the PDA market. It's not a good business decision, they'd only lose money. The PDA market is not big enough for Apple.

Not unless someone creates a radically new concept in PDAs, something that completely changes the whole landscape of the market (like the iPod did for portable music). Until the PDA industry really innovates, it's going to stay about the where it is or it will eventually die.

How did the iPod change the MP3 player market? All the ipod is is just a HDD with AAC, MP3, and Wav. I can understand why Apple wouldn't add the WMA codec but there are other MP3 players that are priced less then the iPod

For a $300 iPod with 20gb you can get a $250 creative Zen Touch with a built in FM radio. Sure you loose AAC, but who actually used that format before you bought the iPod? The iPod has nothing new in it. They are overpriced for the specs they have.


I will say it now, i dumped my Ipod because my PDA could listen to MP3s through the the SD card. I have less then 1gb of music and most of my friends do also. I see no reason why the iPods are cool, other then they are white and have a touch sensitive track mover.

Editied to add: Why didn't they include OGG vorbis? I know i could get it with the linux player, but i want a dedicated solution not a hack. Most of my music collection is encoded in OGG and if an MP3 player cannot play it ,then forget it.

And most of my friends have 30+ gb of music. That is what happens when you own 200+ CD's.

Before the ipod, there weren't any competitively priced models that operated anywhere near the level of apples "total widget" digital hub solution. Once the market was exposed as both profitable and growable everyone jumped on the bandwagon. They not only "changed" the market, they prospected/layed claim/own it (as they did with the PC, laptops, Digital Media and almost PDA's)

Successess are defined by the number of units they sell, not by their functionality or geekish-cool-factor (RIP newton), unfourtunatly. Which is why the iPod paradigm is now one of fashion... it is depressing to think that it was less then a decade ago that apple products were something of a technological "punk" icon... now everyone has one. But some of us will still be able to gloat that we we're using apple branded products before it was "Cool"

NEVER BOUGHT A PC IN MY LIFE. I'M USING APPLE COMPUTER SINCE 1991 WITH AN \"SE\".
I would be happy if people adopting Apple machines nowadays would really appreciate more the products than the brand itself.
But I guess it works like for cars, you can see people buying models only 'cause they're cool...and they don't even know how to drive!
Btw Apple has always marketed better looking products, so why Apple should not get more popular among me tooers????

Apple needs to encourage game developers and to tell consumers that there are actually games for Mac OS X! But most of them are not cross platform compatable for multiplayer.

ID Software and Blizzard are the major game makers for Mac OS X. They are cross platform multiplayer compatible and friendly.

What do Palm and Apple have in common? I have had a Palm TX for a few months and Macs since 1991. I recently posted a whinge elsewhere about the mediocre nature of Palm OS and software in general. Apart from the fact that Palm is NOT PC (usually a plus) it doesn't resemble Apple in the slightest. It is nothing like as inspired, even, (albeit coloured and with a touchscreen) as the old Psion 3's. It has no filing system worth the name and the applications are minimalist. This machine has 300MHz speed and GBs of storage. It's more powerful than my first two macs so why does it limp along like an old PC running a cheap application with a own home brewed graphic interface?
I have a 2GB card in it but no way of organising 2GB worth of useful files. I want to see windows full of folders and to have a 'button' to use, in conjunction with the stylus so I have the functionality of a proper computer screen. What reason would Apple have for associating itself with Palm products?
I can't be the only one to feel this way can I? Why do people rave about the PALM? Just because we're nerds we don't have to revel in the arcane!