Palm Statement on the RIM Settlement

Palm's PR agency has released a statement to the media regarding their official response to the RIM / NTP settlement. In response to a large number of questions from the news media, Palm has issued the following statement:

"We have long believed that a settlement between these parties would be the eventual outcome. We have remained focused on competing in the market by delivering choice to our customers based upon open, standards-based products that win in the marketplace. Palm's partnerships with Good Technology and Microsoft are attracting a growing number of customers. In the United States, we are gaining share of the smartphone market faster than any other supplier, including RIM. We think our momentum will continue as more and more companies understand and deploy our solutions."

Related Article: Palm OS Blackberry Email Alternatives

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RIM settlement reached...Palm utterly failed to capitalize!

hkklife @ 3/3/2006 6:50:50 PM # Q
Palm's really doomed now. Now all of the fleeing corporate market is going to turn back to RIM once and for all.

What's the point of being a cash-rich small company if you cannot even quickly bring new products to market to capitalize on a competitor's weakness or period of uncertainty? Palm's glacial progress rate makes IBM of the late 80's look like a gazelle in comparison.

Even this decidedly non-techie CNN article says that "...competitors have failed to capitalize on this."

http://tinyurl.com/f6crk

Pilot 1000-->Pilot 5000-->PalmPilot Pro-->IIIe-->Vx-->m505-->T|T-->T|T2-->T|C-->T|T3-->T|T5-->TX

RE: RIM settlement reached...Palm utterly failed to capitalize!
drw @ 3/3/2006 10:26:16 PM # Q
In ice hockey terms, Palm had a "power play" and neglected to score a goal. In skiing terms, Palm is the "Bode Miller" of the slopes

My first thought upon reading the headline was it would be nice if Ryan put in the "More Stories Like This..." the first story about PalmSource buying BeOS. Would be interesting to compare the hype. BeOS was supposed to be a perfect acquire to fill in the multi-media gaps in Edsel (I mean Cobalt).

I look at my old trusty Tungsten C in the universal cradle wondering how long before it's speed is surpassed.

---
David

Maybe, Maybe not.
Ironhide @ 3/4/2006 9:14:09 AM # Q
I am not so sure... What Palm still has the partnership with Microsoft. Which is really compelling.

Consider this:

If I wanted to add 100 Users with wireless email to an existing Exchange 2003 enviornment, using Verizon, here are my costs:

RIM:
Capitalized Costs
Handhelds (100 7290s @ $349 /1yr contract) $34900
Bes 4.1 Server for Exchange $32919
Hardware for BES server $1500

Total Cap Costs $69,319

Recurring annual support contract $12,000

Total Costs for the first Year: $81,319
Costs for year 2+ $12,000

Palm Treo 700w
Capitalized Costs
Handhelds (100 7100w @ $549 /1yr contract) $54900
Software $0
Additional Hardware $0

Total Cap Costs $54900

Recurring annual support contract $0

Total Costs for the first Year: $54,900
Costs for year 2+ $0

Palm Treo 650
Capitalized Costs
Handhelds (100 650s @ $349 /1yr contract) $34,900
Additional Hardware $0
Additional Software $0

Total Cap Costs $34,900

Recurring annual support contract $0

Total Costs for the first Year: $34,900
Costs for year 2+ $0

So what we see is that a Palm solution provides a savings of $26,419 the first year, and $12,000 EACH YEAR AFTER. Over the course of 4 years, the total savings would be $74,419! And the savings go up when you scale the users higher.

This for a more flexible solution which allows you to edit attachments. It also prevents you from device, and carrier lock in.

The story is even better for the 650, but I would not use that device because of instability issues particularly with Versamail. And the fact that it doesn't sync contacts OTA.

All that being said, RIM's winning play is name reconigition and the fact that thier solution is balls to the wall rock solid. Palm and Microsoft have some work to go to get there, but they are closing fast. As for name rec, that evaporates when you put a price to it.

So, here is the story I tell my salesmen when they discuss Wireless email. For a savings of 32.5% I can implement a solution which is not limited to a specific device, or number of users. Further, I do not need to install any software to start using it. Just provision devices and get to work.

It is exceptionally compelling. I view the 700w as Palm attacking RIM. It has just the right mix of hardware and software to get the job done.


RE: RIM settlement reached...Palm utterly failed to capitalize!
ReneeRoberts @ 3/4/2006 11:02:03 AM # Q
One other thing that many companies are beginning to reconsider is the notion of single platforms. The RIM legal battle brought it back to the forefront. Companies (and the government agencies) that used RIM products exclusively were scrambling to find solutions in case there was an injunction, while companies that were multi-platform used the time to say, "Ok... we can just move people over to another smartphone that we know works on our systems". It wasn't the "OH SH*T" approach that the RIM only users were going through.

Personally, if I ran a large company right now, I'd make damn sure that I had a well planned out backup plan in the event of device stoppage/mass failure. The multi-platform idea seems "anti-enterprise" (yeah, I hate the word enterprise too), but it really isn't. It is a survival tactic to consider, not just with smartphones, but with other platforms as well. A good IT department can manage multiple platforms. It's been done for years.


RE: RIM settlement reached...Palm utterly failed to capitalize!
stonemirror @ 3/4/2006 11:48:56 AM # Q
I view the 700w as Palm attacking RIM.

The things I've been hearing seem to strongly suggest that 700w sales aren't coming at the expense of 650 sales. While the 700w is evidently a popular choice among existing users of Windows Mobile, very few folks who've been exposed to or used Palm OS seem to be choosing 'em...

RE: RIM settlement reached...Palm utterly failed to capitalize!
Ironhide @ 3/4/2006 2:31:42 PM # Q
Unfortunatly, I am one of the palm users from way back. I currently use a TX, but given the chance, I would switch to a 700w. Mainly because i can sync contacts over the air. and stability of all things...

I think the time has come where we are going to have to make a distinction between Palm, the hardware company, which I think has a future, and the OS, which has seen it's day and it is over.

HP just announced that they are going to a converged device strategy. Palm is in the catbird's seat, it think.



RE: RIM settlement reached...Palm utterly failed to capitalize!
AdamaDBrown @ 3/4/2006 5:29:30 PM # Q
The RIM suit really is a perfect example of why most organizations prefer to avoid technologies that have only one supplier, unless that supplier is IBM.

HP just announced that they are going to a converged device strategy.

Yeah, that's going to be fun to watch. HP has been buggering up their handheld business with bad, overpriced devices, and they blame their sales decline on the eeevil market forces. Now they think that the money is in selling overprices wireless handhelds and smartphones. Which is to say nothing of their many attempts at telephony--the iPaq h5600, hw6300, et al--that blew up on the runway over the years.

RE: RIM settlement reached...Palm utterly failed to capitalize!
KultiVator @ 3/4/2006 6:29:04 PM # Q
I_Run_&_Hide wrote...

> Palm and Microsoft have some work to go to
> get there, but they are closing fast.

Not sure I really remember a time when Palm did anything particularly fast - let alone close the gap in this crucial market. Even their position on Blackberry Connect remains a spectacularly unclear series of announcements of vapourware (that's the proper spelling) - that remains stupidly unpublicised to the Corporate decision-makers who need to be persuaded that Palm has a viable solution for their mobile workforce.

Also, what's with all your talk about the Treo 7100W - I suggest you stay off the babycham and concentrate on your 2-fingered typing!!!

I'm a nice guy really. ;o)

But you've earned a little tit-for-tat bickering and hey, watching the noisey minority in newsgroup has armed me with all kinds of immature and irrational techniques I can throw into an intelligent debate for no reason and with no warning.


KultiVator

RE: RIM settlement reached...Palm utterly failed to capitalize!
Simony @ 3/4/2006 8:38:19 PM # Q
It will be interesting to see how those numbers stack up when (or IF?) Blackberry Connect for Treo 650 becomes available. I had originally thought that this was going to be a free update, but I subsequently found one of the press releases which stated 'pricing to be announced' (or something like that).

Anyway, the Treo 700w is not a viable option for some people, due to the propensity of WM* to crash and the continuing problems with ActiveSync.

* On some of the forums I've seen, WM users are enthusiastically reporting that their devices crash ONLY once or twice a day - that may be an improvement for a seasoned PPC users, but it's intolerable for people whose only experience with mobile tech is say a Nokia phone.

RE: RIM settlement reached...Palm utterly failed to capitalize!
Ironhide @ 3/4/2006 9:40:03 PM # Q
A couple of things:

Kultivator wrote:

I_Run_&_Hide

Cute. But you shouldn't peg me as a Windows Moble fanboy yet. I am more of an agnostic. I am however, an expert in supporting and implementing RIM, Palm, and WinMob platforms for a wide variety of customers.

I will post my exact political views going forward when and if they become relevant.

As far as the momentum I was talking about, the movement is on Microsoft's side. They have done a lot in the last 12 months to make Exchange ActiveSync a viable alternative to both RIM and Good. Palm just has the most compeling hardware in place at the right time. Without the 700w, the story is not as compelling from my perspective.

I like to remember that the P in PDA stands for personal. That means that my device might not work for you. If Palm releases the 700p, then I can support both Palms and PPC lovers with the same backend, and similar devices.

Adama, you are quite correct about HP. Funny thing is that a few months ago, when I was looking for the cheapest handheld with WIFI, the TX was it. HP never quite answered Dell in the marketplace, and they never understood that a $500 price tag was a barrier to entry. And now they are targeting the Treo? somehow I am not concerned.


Simony,

In the vast majority of solutions I have implemented, (well over 8000 seats) I have designed the solution to be cradle free. Meaning that I don't install or use Activesync at all.

Zero desktop footprint is what I am after. For RIM, Goodlink, Windows Mobile there is no need to sync at all because all of the syncing is done over the air automatically. For PalmOS connected to Exchange Activcesync, I haven't been able to shake the cradle yet because Palm's implementation of Exchange AS does not sync contacts. One of the reasons that in those cases, I sell them goodlink.

I have been awaitng BB Connect for over a year now. My bottom line is that I can't sell or support vaporware. And the cost is ridiculous.


RE: RIM settlement reached...Palm utterly failed to capitalize!
Simony @ 3/4/2006 10:53:23 PM # Q
I hear what you say about 'vapourware' - Blackberry Connect has been promised for some time now.

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That person who always talks about themselves.

AdamaDBrown @ 3/4/2006 2:32:48 AM # Q
I figure even the luckiest of people have had at least one experience with one of those people who, no matter the subject of the conversation, invariably ends up talking about themselves.

You know what? All of those people end up working in Public Relations. }:)

RE: That person who always talks about themselves.
Dr Opinion @ 3/5/2006 8:43:09 PM # Q
> "...I figure..."

Thanks for sharing what you figure. How ironic. :)

------
"People who like M$ products tend to be insecure crowd-following newbies lacking in experience and imagination."

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It's interesting that it is PALM's PR agency's release

SeldomVisitor @ 3/4/2006 8:20:37 AM # Q
There are, of course, no words directly out of PALM about this. That keeps them off PALM's own web site.

A PR release that isn't.

Pretty cool.

Pretty telling.

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What's to captialize on?

Dr Opinion @ 3/5/2006 8:44:38 PM # Q
Do you really think that Palm has, like, a gazillion Treo's lying around in the channel waiting around for Palm to "capitalize" on some random things that happen to competitors? Palm can afford to have a massive inventory shortfall if RIM loses, sure, but not as result of an aggressive marketing campaign by Palm designed to freak out Blackberry-using executives. Duh.

Plenty of corporate shops (and the USGovt) have started their glacial procurement processes to find an alternative to Blackberry in the new future. The fallout from the suit will take place in months to come as shops switch to more open messaging platforms, such as Treo.

Note to the stupid: Blackberry Connect is not an alternative to Blackberry. :)



------
"People who like M$ products tend to be insecure crowd-following newbies lacking in experience and imagination."

RE: What's to captialize on?
SeldomVisitor @ 3/6/2006 5:38:10 AM # Q
When PALM develops a $100-dollar TREO, they will compete with Blackberry.

RE: What's to captialize on?
Tamog @ 3/7/2006 10:38:41 AM # Q
Hi,
oh no;). Please not again discussions about the lowend Treo. I fully agree that Palm needs such a box, but the question is:

a)Do they want to do it
b)Can they do it(in terms of hardware quality)

The MDA Compact was sold in austria by T-Mobile for mere 50$. In the end, every secretary and teenager girl now has one of them. In fact, my best friend, who is a total non techie and cant even read her own email, purchased one for herself...carrier subsidized allright, but thats the carriers problem and not Palm's.

Best regards
Tam Hanna

Find out more about the Palm OS in my blog:
http://tamspalm.tamoggemon.com

RE: What's to captialize on?
Surur @ 3/7/2006 11:41:17 AM # Q

I personally think that the HTC Magician (MDA Compact, Compact II, XDA mini, Imate Jam, VPA etc etc etc) and its descendants (HTC Prophet and XDA Atom) may have outsold the Treo 600/650 in real numbers, but due to the scattered sales (many different OEM's/distributers) this is impossible to prove. Its certainly the most popular pocketpc-phone design currently.

Tam, do you have any view on this?

Surur

They said I only argued for the sake of arguing, but after an hour I convinced them they were wrong...

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