Legend Mobile Scraps Jordan Branded Handheld

Legend Mobile, formerly PTN Media, lost nearly $308,700 in the second quarter and has ended its agreement with basketball superstar Michael Jordan. Legend Mobile is the company known for marketing the Claudia Schiffer and Jordan branded Palm handhelds.

Jordan Palm m100 For the first six months of this year, Legend reported a net loss of $574,248 or 8 cents a share on revenue of $57,672 compared with a net loss of about $948,000 or 20 cents a share on revenue of $226,866 for the same year ago period. Legend said it entered a settlement agreement with Jordan on June 27 to stop using Jordan’s likeness on any products. As part of the agreement, Legend paid Jordan $468,750.

In January of 2001, Legend Mobile entered into a three-year, exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license agreement with Michael Jordan, the former NBA player, granting them the right to use Jordan's name, likeness, image, and endorsement in connection with the advertisement, promotion, and sale of Jordan branded handheld computers using the Palm OS.

Legend Mobile had previously promoted the Claudia Schiffer Palm Vx. The Claudia Edition featured a aqua colored brushed aluminum standard Palm Vx shell designed to make the handheld more stylish and appealing to women. Both the Claudia and Jordan handhelds featured personally picked custom software. The Jordan Palm m100 cames with a black faceplate and flip cover with the Jordan name in silver on the front. The Jordan Palm m500 (originally sold for $425) and had the Jordan logo on the top left-hand corner.

Lackluster sales caused Legend to scrap the Jordan handhelds and seek other forms of revenue. Currently the company promotes celebritity editions of mobile phones and accessories. They have deals with Playboy, pop singer Christina Aguilera, rapper Nelly and several NASCAR drivers.

Thanks to PalmLoyal for the Tip.

Article Comments

 (16 comments)

The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. PalmInfocenter is not responsible for them in any way.
Please Login or register here to add your comments.

Comments Closed Comments Closed
This article is no longer accepting new comments.

Down

HAHAHAHA

Jonmills88 @ 11/15/2002 10:58:21 AM #
Wow yeah ok come on you can't just rebrand a handheld add some crappy software and expect people to buy it.

Add to the fact that this isnt colour...great stuff glad to see this fail

Never Saw One for Sale
sralmas @ 11/15/2002 11:20:31 AM #
I never like to see anyone fail, but I also never saw a Jordan or Schiffer Palm for sale anywhere. This might have had a chance, but not without promotion.

RE: Never Saw One for Sale
Admin @ 11/15/2002 11:24:23 AM #
The Claudia was exclusively available online, not sure about the MJ...
RE: HAHAHAHA
Foo Fighter @ 11/15/2002 11:49:07 AM #
Well these failing "re-branded" Palm devices were incepted during Carl Yankwoski's reign of terror.

As Charles Dickens would say..."It was the best of times...it was the worst of times".

"it's better to be a pirate than join the navy." - Steve Jobs

RE: HAHAHAHA
Token User @ 11/15/2002 12:33:21 PM #
Wow yeah ok come on you can't just rebrand a handheld add some crappy software and expect people to buy it.

Yeah, the IBM Workpad was a complete flop too (not)...

Actually, it was popular with corporate types that trusted the IBM name, and liked the sexy black anodised aluminium cases.

~ "Don't be too proud of this technological terror you've constructed." - DV ~

RE: HAHAHAHA
Foo Fighter @ 11/15/2002 1:06:04 PM #
Token User: "Actually, it was popular with corporate types.."

Do you have any market data to back that up? IBM has never gained enough volume sales to even appear on PDA pie chart. If that's not a flop, it's pretty darn close. Which is understandable since IBM never really did much to market their product.

"it's better to be a pirate than join the navy." - Steve Jobs

RE: HAHAHAHA
Token User @ 11/15/2002 1:16:03 PM #
IBM has never gained enough volume sales to even appear on PDA pie chart.

Very true ... in much the same way that Handera fails to appears on PDA pie charts. The C3 was sold via partner channels, and not via the sales channels that Gartner and the hoard of other "segment analyst" companies use for sales.

Rebranding was in general a failed experiment that we all laughed at when it was released, in much the same way as the "patriot colors" that Palm released awhile back.

However, the IBM deal was a little unique in as much as it included syncing to Lotus Notes and tighter integration via software to IBM owned platforms. As such it enjoyed limited success and was far from a failure.

IIRC I never saw actual sales figures for the C3. The only sales data I ever saw had the IBM C3 sales rolled into the Palm Vx sales under the justification that they were the same device. I'll try to google the original data up - but it has been awhile since I needed to track that type of info.

~ "Don't be too proud of this technological terror you've constructed." - DV ~

RE: HAHAHAHA
I.M. Notorious @ 11/15/2002 1:50:57 PM #
True, IBM-branded Palm handhelds were only introduced so IBM could offer a closed package for its consumers (read "Large Corporations"). I own a WorkPad c505 and it is ABSOLUTELY identical with the Palm m505, sans software bundle (Lotus whatever) and case color (anodized black).

RE: HAHAHAHA
ska @ 11/15/2002 2:11:53 PM #
IBM's next handheld adventure is not with Palm Inc. anymore.

http://news.com.com/2100-1040-965986.html?tag=fd_top

RE: HAHAHAHA
sr @ 11/15/2002 2:25:34 PM #
IBM is big on Linux these days so that partnership with Sharp and Zaurus makes sense.

Oh that Jordan

petew @ 11/15/2002 12:46:33 PM #
Reading the headline made me think of the topless model, Jordan. Now that would've been interesting :=)

How did they ever get funding in the first place?

nachman @ 11/15/2002 1:24:13 PM #
The big question, it seems to me, is how Legend ever secured the kind of funding necessary to get into the position of losing half a million.

Here's the pitch to potential investors:

"Hey, we're going to Jordan brand some handheld devices that are loved by armies of geeks and, the simple act of placing Jordan's name on the flipcover will attract armies of non-geeks who want to be cool. Trust me, it will work, we've got the market research to back this up."

*Sound of wallets opening up*

Got me.

Don't be so quick to laugh

sandbuck @ 11/15/2002 1:28:36 PM #
They just cancelled the Jordan m100 to make way for the Adam Sandler IIIc. Very shrewd....

RE: Don't be so quick to laugh
arielb @ 11/18/2002 7:25:59 AM #
it comes in 8 different colors so you can have a different one for each day of Chanukah

I bought a Schiffer Palm Vx

jadjman @ 11/15/2002 11:30:55 PM #
I bought a Palm Vx Claudia Schiffer edition back when they were released for my wife. Of COURSE she never really used it, but it looked nice.

But the software was a big joke. It was a waste of RAM. The branded Palm-device thing is dumb. The NFL licensing with Motorola is at least mildly successful, but not in the major markets...

These licensing efforts are a big failure.

This is good news

Lobotome @ 11/18/2002 9:50:59 AM #
Well, maybe people are not as silly as is sometimes seems, and have not been brainwashed with branding as much as it is apparent.

The idea of paying a single penny more for a device just for the fact that a vacuum-brained barbie doll thinks it looks cute in blue is grotesque. If that is all CS can think of to promote women in technology, she'd better retire to her home in Mallorca and party as she knows best.

As for Michael Jordan, whoever finds himself more like a real man because his Palm (or his eau de toilette, or his toilet paper, for as much as I care) sports this gentleman's name, he better get some Viagra and get down to reality.


Top

Account

Register Register | Login Log in
user:
pass: