Palm Unveils its Own Web Browser

At CeBit, Palm Inc. has announced that it will soon be releasing the Palm Web Browser. This is a full Web browser which allows to user to access any URL on the Internet, bookmark and categorize favorite sites, save information for offline viewing, and cache a history of visited sites. Pages are reformatted to make them look better on a handheld's small screen. It will be available in the U.S. on April 8 for $20.

The Palm Web Browser has compression technology that speeds up downloads of text and the browser displays that first, so users can search and read information while multiple graphics continue to load from a page. It is not yet clear whether it makes use of a proxy server, though it seems likely.

The browser will be available in Europe at the end of April, and in other regions some time after that. It is localized in English, French, Italian, German, Spanish and Japanese.

The Palm Web Browser is available for wirelessly-enabled Palm m125, m130, m500, m505, m515, and i705 handhelds, which seems to indicate that it requires Palm OS 4.

This is another sign that Palm is moving away from its Web Clipping technology, which was created to allow users to download small amounts of targeted information rather than whole Web pages. However, the conditions Web Clipping was designed to deal with are going away. It was created to allow users to quickly get the information they need at a time when wireless networks were very slow and charged by the amount of data downloaded. With 3G wireless networks on the horizon, those limitations should soon be a thing of the past.

Palm hasn't dropped Web Clipping yet. The new Palm Web Browser has support for it built-in. There are still plenty of users of slow wireless networks for which Web Clipping is a good solution.

"Our web clipping approach is ideal for quick hits for specific information; the new browser affords the additional freedom to explore any website and save important information," said Todd Bradley, executive vice president and COO of the Solutions Group at Palm, Inc.

The first sign of the move away from Web Clipping was when the i705, Palm's new wireless handheld, came with a full Web Browser as well as Web Clipping support. When it was released, rumors surfaced that Palm would be announcing an improved version, which this apparently is. It is not yet known if i705 users will get this app as a free upgrade.

This is far from the first Web browser available for the Palm OS. Handspring makes Blazer 2.0 and AvantGo has one built-in.

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why are they charging money

I.M. Anonymous @ 3/13/2002 9:46:45 AM #
why are they charging money for it. it should have been for free

RE: why are they charging money
dethblud @ 3/13/2002 9:52:40 AM #
Why not charge money? It's a product that the company has spent time and money developing. Owning a Palm isn't a free ticket to any software the company makes.

RE: why are they charging money
montyburns @ 3/13/2002 9:53:26 AM #
because they can.

Handspring charges for their browser, so this should be no suprise to anybody.

I like my Palm!

RE: why are they charging money
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/13/2002 10:02:24 AM #
I agree that if you have an older Palm, or a non-Palm Palm (such as a Handspring) you should have to pay for this browser. I don't think that Palm i705 owners should have to pay, as they developed a wireless handheld without these features, and these features should have been included. IMHO i705 users should be given a free upgrade.

RE: why are they charging money
LarryTheTomato @ 3/13/2002 10:02:57 AM #
If they had made it free, they would have put all third-party web browsers out of business. Palm's browser would be the only one. Do you really want that?

You've been living in a world dominated by Microsoft for too long. Palm likes and supports third-party developers. It doesn't actively try to steal their business and put them out of business.

RE: why are they charging money
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/13/2002 10:27:35 AM #
"why are they charging money for it."??? Perhaps, so Palm can _make_ money. And stay in business. Won't that be good for all of us?!


RE: why are they charging money
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/13/2002 10:44:57 AM #
I agree it should be free, after all PPCs include Pocket Internet Explorer for free! I don't mind paying money for apps, but some are ones that should be included on the device already and this is one of them, as well as a real email program.

RE: why are they charging money
LarryTheTomato @ 3/13/2002 10:47:41 AM #
Pocket Internet Explorer isn't very good and there are no competetors. There's no point in a company writing one and trying to sell it. Even if its was better (not very hard) they couldn't possibly make any money because Pocket Internet Explorer is free. Is that the situation you want for the Palm OS?

RE: why are they charging money
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/13/2002 11:32:18 AM #
You think that this browser should be free just because PPCs include IE? Microsoft is able to include IE for "free" because they charge an arm and a leg for their PDAs. If you want to see Palm handhelds remain "affordable", asking them to include every home-grown software package for free isn't the way to do it... I think the $20 charge is reasonable. I do not currently need a web browser on my PDA -- I'd rather have the overall cost of the unit reduced by $20 and if I want to add the browser later I can easily do so...

RE: why are they charging money
fperkins @ 3/13/2002 11:33:40 AM #
IE is free. NS is free. Opera is free [with advertising], Palm's browser is fr... err 20 bucks.

What a joke.

I feel really sorry for anyone that bought an i705 and now they are being suckered to upgrade for 20 bucks.

This is only going to add support to PocketPC over Palm debate. "Palm charges 20 bucks for their browser while our's is Free!"

RE: why are they charging money
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/13/2002 12:25:16 PM #
If Palm started providing a free, good-quality browser, they would run all of the 3rd party solutions out of business. Palm isn't Microsoft, and I don't want them to be. If they can provide and support a high-quality solution for $20, more power to them. Browsers are far more difficult applications to write than many of the other simplistic Palm apps that people charge $20 for.

RE: why are they charging money
Altema @ 3/13/2002 12:30:57 PM #
"If they had made it free, they would have put all third-party web browsers out of business. Palm's browser would be the only one. Do you really want that?
You've been living in a world dominated by Microsoft for too long. Palm likes and supports third-party developers. It doesn't actively try to steal their business and put them out of business."

I agree 100%

RE: why are they charging money
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/13/2002 1:11:46 PM #
I bought a lot of things at the supermarket yesterday. So I will go today and ask them to give me 2 pounds of oranges for free...

You want the browser, pay for it. You donīt want to pay, donīt use a browser or use AvantGo. I agree with all the posts that say that it is a reasonable price, considering it is a very difficult software to write. And making it free would kill 3rd. party developers and turn Palm into MS... Letīs hope this never happens :-)

RE: why are they charging money
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/13/2002 2:37:23 PM #
Well, Eudora already gives their Palm browser away for free, and that hasn't killed off the competition. Maybe we should pay for all the internal apps on the Palm huh, because including them for free is bad for competition?? Give me a break! Did anyone gripe about them including the Notepad app for free, when it replaces some 3rd party apps out there already? Of course not, because it will just encourage the 3rd parties to improve their products more and give people a reason to upgrade. Why are products like DateBk4 so popular when we already have a Datebook program? Because it provides a lot of additional features. There's no reason Palm should not be providing a free browser like the PPC does, while still allowing 3rd parties to develop ones that give us a lot more, like javascript and Flash capabilities.

RE: why are they charging money
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/13/2002 2:43:15 PM #
If you are so cheap that you can't pay $20 for a browser, did you steal that Palm device you have or did you pick it out of a dumpster?

RE: why are they charging money
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/13/2002 2:46:08 PM #
> I feel really sorry for anyone that bought an i705 and now they are
> being suckered to upgrade for 20 bucks

How do you know i705 users will have to pay for it? You don't, you just assumed it. Wait until you know whether you've been bit before you start howling.

RE: why are they charging money
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/13/2002 3:50:36 PM #
Dont worry people. im sure it will be available on "WAREZ sites =)...

Last Time I Checked Handspring Charged $20 for Blazer
kevdo @ 3/13/2002 4:37:15 PM #
I'm not saying that Palm is a perfect company but there's been nary a peep that Handspring is charging the same price for basically the same sort of product.

If you're going to beat Palm up about this, then at least have the decency to beat up Handspring, too.

-Kevin Crossman

RE: why are they charging money
fperkins @ 3/13/2002 11:14:59 PM #
Let me ask a question. Does Palm make money off of it's wireless access subscriptions? Wouldn't a full featured browser intice more customers to buy the i705 because of the rich content it will support? Perhaps it will be a free upgrade for i705 users, but maybe not.

Err.. no I don't expect to get free oranges [stupid analogy]. Here's an anlogy that makes sense. You spend 25k on a new car and it doesn't come with floor mats. Do you tell the sales guy that you would like to pay 75 bucks for floor mats [sucker], or do you negotiate to have them thrown into the deal?

I really hate being so negative, but some of you guys are so blinded by your faith in Palm, that you refuse to be even somewhat critical of Palm, especially when they are trying to soak you for another 20 bucks after spending several hundred dollars on their latest and arguably greatest pda, not including accessories etc.

Part of the reason why I prefer Palm of PocketPC is because there are A LOT of freeware apps out there. Even the ones that aren't free, do have pretty good shareware versions. Like I already said, if Palm is going to start charging for applications to enhance their own product, it only makes it easier for M$ to creep on in.

It doesn't matter anyways. I'm sure Sony will have it included in their next wireless PDA. ;-)

If you're going to reply, point by point to this post, don't waste your time!



RE: why are they charging money
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/14/2002 8:05:45 AM #
The comment about Eudora being free, and then talking about internal apps got me thinking.
Wouldn't this be solved if Palm decided to include a clipping-only web browser in the ROM
of all their Palms, and selling this full-featured web browser for $20. After all, that is what
they did with the email app, datebook, etc. They included apps are adequate, but hardly full
featured.

This way they can still use the same philosphy they always have of cooperation instead of
Microsoft's philosophy of destroying competition, even competition that isn't originally theirs.
It is my opinion that for the i705 some form of web browser should have been included with
the device, in ROM, not installable from CDROM. If Palm decided that any new applicaiton
would be installable, then they should take all their apps out of ROM and make them
installable too. This is getting into another topic.

-- Paul

RE: why are they charging money
NRowe @ 3/14/2002 12:03:53 PM #
I.M. Anonymous number 3003 wrote:

>Well, Eudora already gives their Palm browser away for
>free, and that hasn't killed off the competition.

But you are forgetting that Palm has the ability to bundle their browser into every Palm sold, Eudora doesn't have this capability. Obviously this has a far greater impact on the ability of other free browsers to survive. Witness the whole DOJ case against Microsoft browser bundling.

I don't necessarily agree with having to pay for every piece of software, but the fact remains that there are free alternatives to the Palm browser.
So far the discourse on all the reasons why Palm can/should charge users are very intelligent and on-topic. A refreshing change and long may this trend continue.

RE: why are they charging money
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/14/2002 12:26:04 PM #
Netscape and Opera are forced to 'sell' their browser for free because of what M$ did, giving away IE free and destroying competitions. If M$ wanted to they could have sell PPC for free to destroy PalmOS and when PalmOS dies, they can charge $1000 for PPCs because no one else competes with them. Get it?

RE: why are they charging money
Edward @ 3/14/2002 2:36:50 PM #
"Wouldn't this be solved if Palm decided to include a clipping-only web browser in the ROM
of all their Palms, and selling this full-featured web browser for $20. "

Erm ... the clipping only browser is in nearly all OS 4 Roms - including Clie's. I use web clipping apps on my n770c as well as Blazer. Sadly the HTML renderer which Clippings use, and I imagine this browser will use, that is built into PalmOS at a fairly foundational level (it supports mail to links to a defined Mail App and can be called from other apps / call other apps) doesn't support Hi-Res even with Hi-Res Assist.

I am glad Palms browser is proxy based - it speeds things up!

Gee . . . .

I.M. Anonymous @ 3/13/2002 9:48:32 AM #
What everyone was begging for . . . .

RE: Gee . . . .
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/13/2002 12:31:46 PM #
>"What everyone was begging for . . . ."

huh? There are already several good browsers for Palm, including ones that support graphics, cookies, frames, and even javascript.

RE: Gee . . . .
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/13/2002 1:45:56 PM #
Probably the point. Palm is about 6 - 12 months behind when it comes to anything lately so it doesnt surprise me.

RE: Gee . . . .
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/13/2002 1:47:09 PM #
That was my point.

Wasted development resources . . . . .

RE: Gee . . . .
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/13/2002 4:15:44 PM #
But there aren't any good browsers for the i705, unless you want to add an external modem.
Kinda defeats the purpose.


...and they shut out handspring users...

I.M. Anonymous @ 3/13/2002 9:54:27 AM #
I know it's HS's own damn fault for not upgrading their OS, but what's in OS4.1 that the browser *had* to have? Not much, I bet. Oh, wait, there's one feature I forgot:

their biggest competitor in the wireless arena can't run it.

RE: ...and they shut out handspring users...
LarryTheTomato @ 3/13/2002 9:58:44 AM #
OS 4.x has support for web clipping integrated into the OS and OS 3.x does not. Because Visors don't have flash ROM, there is no way to add this to the OS. Palm would have to figure out a way to make Web clipping work without adding it to the OS. In short, a whole lot of work for a small percentage of sales.

RE: ...and they shut out handspring users...
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/13/2002 10:12:44 AM #
There are Visor users that are runnign PQAs. All you need is the PalmMobile Kit (or some library files on the net).

RE: ...and they shut out handspring users...
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/13/2002 10:35:13 AM #
try the surewave product at http://www.jpmobile.com/ it is reasonably successful at allowing visor/treo users to access pqas

RE: ...and they shut out handspring users...
Ed @ 3/13/2002 10:43:35 AM #
Please keep in mind that I said "this seems to indicate that it requires Palm OS 4" not that it definitely does. Let's stay in a holding pattern while we wait for more information and not draw too many conclusions from preliminary data.

---
News Editor
RE: ...and they shut out handspring users...
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/13/2002 12:34:19 PM #
I don'[t understand all the whining about HandSpring in this thread - you've got Blazer 2.0 - a damn fine browser. And there is always Xiino (PalmScape) which supports javascript - i bet Palms browser doesnt do this. BTW - what web features does Palms browser support? Anybody know if it supports cookies or frames like above browsers do?

RE: ...and they shut out handspring users...
bcombee @ 3/13/2002 2:30:16 PM #
Web clipping (in Palm OS 4.0) supports cookies, so I'm fairly sure the new browser handles them too.

CodeWarrior for Palm OS technical lead

''full'' Web browser

I.M. Anonymous @ 3/13/2002 10:10:30 AM #
Does full Web browser mean support for javascript, etc. ? Anyone have any details ?

RE: ''full'' Web browser
Ed @ 3/13/2002 10:41:20 AM #
This is a very preliminary announcement without a lot of detail. However, because JavaScript wasn't mentioned, I suspect that it isn't included, at least in this first version.

---
News Editor
RE: ''full'' Web browser
I.M. Anonymous @ 3/13/2002 10:59:25 AM #
Does anyone know when Xiino's English version is going to be out, it's been 'coming soon' for ages.
Palmscape was a good browser and it looks like Xiino will be great if they ever get around to translating it!

RE: ''full'' Web browser
Dark @ 3/13/2002 12:53:13 PM #
This is getting exciting.

A couple of days ago, there's was news on a Flash player for Palm OS. Now, a new browser for Palm. If this browser will have support for Javascript and has integrated Flash player, we are going places man!

_______________
http://www.palmvenue.com - Where Palm OS users and developers meet.

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