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    Palm OS Continues US Smartphone LeadPosted By: Ryan on Tuesday, May 11, 2004 4:13:18 PM
PalmSource today announced Palm OS is the leader in the U.S. smartphone market for the third straight month. Based on data released by the NPD Group, a retail sales tracking firm, U.S. market share for Palm Powered smartphones in March 2004 exceeded Microsoft and Symbian Series 60 market share combined.
NPD's data on the U.S. smartphone market gave Palm OS a 47 percent market share, an increase of 13 points from January figures. Microsoft (the combination of Pocket PC Phone Edition and Microsoft Smartphone) and Symbian Series 60 tied with 20 percent market share each. Rising sales of the Treo 600 smartphone from palmOne, and continued success of Kyocera and Samsung Palm Powered smartphones boosted Palm OS market share in March 2004. "The figures from NPD confirm that the Palm OS is a great platform for smartphones," said Michael Mace, chief competitive officer at PalmSource, Inc. "We believe the power and flexibility of Palm OS enables licensees to create mobile data products with advanced features that drive end-user demand and deliver unsurpassed ease-of-use."
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25 total comments The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. PIC is not responsible for them in any way. login or register for free in order to post comments.  RE: Now capitalizeToken User @ 5/11/2004 6:13:44 PM #
Its all about convergence ... traditional PDA are getting more connected, and traditional cellphones are getting smarter. IT wont be long and we will only need to choose our preferred device - a cellphone with smarts, or a PDA with "always on" connectivity. ~ "Don't be too proud of this technological terror you've constructed." - DV ~ RE: Now capitalizegfunkmagic @ 5/11/2004 6:58:56 PM #
>>>This tells me that they should be focusing the overwhelming majority of their attention on smart phones. At some point why keep producing handhelds? There will always be a PDA segment, so that wouldn't make sense. Also realize that PalmOne is NOT a mobile handset OEM. There is no way they can compete against the likes of Nokia, Motorola etc. PalmOne must develop it's own niche in the smartphone/comvergence segment. That means developing and innovating better and better Treo line from the low end to the high. IMO if PalmOne could even capture a tiny 3-4% of burgeoning smartphone market (projected +400 million), they would be quite successful... As far as the Treo, it would make sense a new model is on the horizon. Whether all the unverifiable Treo610 rumors are true is unknown... -------------------- RE: Now capitalize
"There will always be a PDA segment, so that wouldn't make sense. Also realize that PalmOne is NOT a mobile handset OEM. There is no way they can compete against the likes of Nokia, Motorola etc. PalmOne must develop it's own niche in the smartphone/comvergence segment. That means developing and innovating better and better Treo line from the low end to the high. IMO if PalmOne could even capture a tiny 3-4% of burgeoning smartphone market (projected +400 million), they would be quite successful..." Thanks, but in all due respect, that's my point. Palm has fixed resources. The smart phone market is wide open and a lot more lucrative at this stage of the game. Why not spend those limited resources on the area where you already have the lead? In other words, PDA's are a dying breed (sure, there will be some being produced, but at some point it's going to become an IRRELEVANT market). Just like you said, develop the Treo line from top to bottom. That won't be cheap, but it holds a lot more promise than making the world's best PDA. RE: Now capitalizegfunkmagic @ 5/11/2004 7:56:45 PM #
Quote: "Thanks, but in all due respect, that's my point. Palm has fixed resources. The smart phone market is wide open and a lot more lucrative at this stage of the game. Why not spend those limited resources on the area where you already have the lead? In other words, PDA's are a dying breed (sure, there will be some being produced, but at some point it's going to become an IRRELEVANT market). Just like you said, develop the Treo line from top to bottom. That won't be cheap, but it holds a lot more promise than making the world's best PDA."
-------------------- RE: Now capitalize
I, for one, have returned to a T3 and a BT phone to achieve my mobile needs. For the last year I have used a POS smartphone but found it (and all others, including current Treo 600) wanting in my screen needs. Since I regularly need to view/edit Office documents and return them to my office via email, I found it more manageable to use the expanding screen T3. Additionally, the processing speed and memory advantages help too. As long as smartphones do not have the screen size I need (without being a "brick"), I will still need the traditional PDA. Don't stop PDA innovation. The issue of need is not an "either or" but a "both and." RE: Now capitalize
"Ummm...I think we've gone down this road...remember Handspring?" And that was when, 2.5 to 3 years ago? There wasn't even a "smart phone market" to speak of. I don't think stats such as the one in this article were even being calculated at that time. Besides, you don't know that Handspring wouldn't be around today, looking a lot better had they not been bought by Palm. No one, including Handspring, knew the Treo would have this kind of success. I'm willing to guess there are those at Handspring thinking "if we could have just held on for another year". Remember, Palm's made its decision to buy Handspring after seeing the 600. "I simply don't think PalmOne has to "abandon" pdas in order to focus on smartphones..." Or do you just not WANT them to? Keep in mind, production and development of PDA's is something I would scale down gradually were I running Palm. Look at the numbers, they're just not making any real money on them. The Treo on the other hand......well, the numbers don't lie. Speaking of numbers, look at those for the PDA market. It continues to shrink. That means die. Why throw good money after bad???? RE: Now capitalize... ------> Not so simple.
Quote: "Thanks, but in all due respect, that's my point. Palm has fixed resources. The smart phone market is wide open and a lot more lucrative at this stage of the game. Why not spend those limited resources on the area where you already have the lead? In other words, PDA's are a dying breed (sure, there will be some being produced, but at some point it's going to become an IRRELEVANT market). Just like you said, develop the Treo line from top to bottom. That won't be cheap, but it holds a lot more promise than making the world's best PDA."
Well said. Pal'm problem is they cant keep topping Nokia and Sony Ericsson in the innovation department forever. Palm is a design company and their competition designs and MAKES smartphones. Exactly how long do you think it will take Nokia and Sony Ericsson to plagiarize Palm's ideas? Less than 6 months. And with Palm's design cycle sitting at around 2 years the'll soon be outgunned by the big boys. The biggest question is why hasn't Samsung yet released a dominant PalmOS smartphone? They have the resources to do this, yet all we see is vaporware announcements (akin to styling exercises displayed at car shows). Bizarre. Freedom of speech, baby. Gotta love it, RE: Now capitalize
Nokia doesn't seem to want to plagiarize anyone's ideas. Better than that, it's not like either they or SE use the Palm OS or will be anytime soon (despite the rumors about SE). 
 Increased Marketshare of what size market?SeldomVisitor @ 5/11/2004 5:59:57 PM #
40% of 100,000 is...40,000. 50% of 75,000 is...37,500. Which is better? The NPD report is for US retail sales only if I remember correctly - hasn't that market been dramatically shrinking? Be Careful Out There! RE: Increased Marketshare of what size market?
I really hate NPD reports. What is retail in this sense? Obviously phones purchased in CompUSA and BestBuy would be here. What about phones purchased directly from the carrier though? THose are retail outlets, but does NPD have their hooks into those scan-throughs? I really find it hard to believe that The expensive Treo 600 is outselling the various sub $200 Symbian series 60 machines. RE: Increased Marketshare of what size market?Michael Mace @ 5/11/2004 7:08:09 PM #
Ed H. wrote: >What about phones purchased directly from the carrier though? Those are retail outlets, but does NPD have their hooks into those scan-throughs? NPD uses a different methodology for its smartphone numbers. The retail sales reports are supplemented by weekly surveys of about 35,000 users per week. Those surveys are aggregated into the monthly number. Result: this report covers all channels. Mike RE: Increased Marketshare of what size market?gfunkmagic @ 5/11/2004 7:22:32 PM #
>>>I really hate NPD reports... That's funny, I really hate Gartner reports! :D -------------------- RE: Increased Marketshare of what size market?
EdH: Does MS actually pay you anything for the service you provide them? For your sake, I hope so. If you want to constantly make a fool of yourself here and elsewhere, don't you want to at least be compensated for it? What, did Ballmer tell you: "if you keep up the good work, maybe I'll let you touch my sweater."? I'm sure they wouldn't mind if you thought for yourself every now and then. RE: Increased Marketshare of what size market?gfunkmagic @ 5/11/2004 8:02:55 PM #
>>>>Does MS actually pay you anything for the service you provide them? Don't be silly! MS MVP's don't ge paid! Not at all, they're just independent users recognized by MS who go to free conferences, get free gifts, travel, software...er...nevermind. ;) -------------------- RE: Increased Marketshare of what size market?
Oh believe me, I know. But lame conferences and cheap bags that say 'Microsoft MVP', etc? For the level of stupidity the guy exhibits? Oh well, I guess everyone has their price.... RE: Increased Marketshare of what size market?
40% of 100,000 is...40,000. 50% of 75,000 is...37,500. Which is better? The NPD report is for US retail sales only if I remember correctly - hasn't that market been dramatically shrinking? Be Careful Out There!
Freedom of speech, baby. Gotta love it, RE: Increased Marketshare of what size market?RhinoSteve @ 5/16/2004 11:01:26 AM #
and I guess to make Microsoft look good, Gartner could state that Microsoft has the majority of smartphones with a issuance due to their returns. LOL Ask Mr. Science: using m505 to answer an age old question
Which is heavier, a pound of feathers or ...
If you want to prove this, just bring a scale and a pound of feathers down to the landfill site behind Palm's headquarters in Sunnyvale. Pick up 4 m505 and put them on one side of the scale. Put your bag of feathers on the other side of the scale. There you go.
Freedom of speech, baby. Gotta love it,
It's good, but I need to see more culture Mas! Mas!
The PalmSource Smartphone Culture SHOULD NOT be limited to Sprint, and national GSM Carriers. Instead, it should be "touching" local wireless carriers, all CDMA Carriers, even Nextel and Southern Linc. The Cell Phone Community IMO, is in dire need of some Palm-Powered Culture. A Palm-Powered Handheld is the bread and butter for many people. Without a Palm-Powered Handheld, your progress is all for naught. RE: It's good, but I need to see more culture Mas! Mas!Token User @ 5/12/2004 10:21:34 AM #
Well, it wont be NexTel (no "push to talk" walkie talkie functionality), and I am not sure about Southern Linc (is that a real company?? wasn't it the name of a TV show starring a chimp??), but Verizon is joining the fold which greatly expands CDMA coverage. ~ "Don't be too proud of this technological terror you've constructed." - DV ~ RE: It's good, but I need to see more culture Mas! Mas!
Ahhh, Nextel. If they would affer anything BT with web access I would be there by lunch today. Pat Horne; www.churchoflivingfaith.com Lancelot Link
funny - that show with the talking chimps was 'Lancelot Link; Secret Chimp'.
I think back to that show, remember that I really liked it at that time - which was when, like 1972 or something - and it makes me realize my TV comedy tastes at that time were NOT that discriminating. I mean - c'mon - a show made up of costumed chimps, flapping their mouths to approximate dialog. Sheez. Their costumes were pretty cool though. And didn't they drive little cars, as well?
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The OS 5 development for less expensive handsets is overdue and the Treo needs an update to at least include BT. Don't let this get away Palm. You don't always get second chances in life, but now you've got one.