Editorial on Palm's Blog Plans

PalmLoyal has written a potentially controversial piece on what Palm's recently-launched corporate blog means for the company's future plans. The author of the PalmLoyal editorial, Carl Brooks, argues that certain missed features longed for in Palm Treos (think wi-fi) are absent not due to technical considerations but because only a small percentage of wireless smartphone users are also wi-fi users. In short, the PalmLoyal article claims that the "average" Treo user is ill-equipped to deploy wi-fi onto a smartphone device that is already equipped with an EDGE or EVDO data connection. The author then goes on to advise Treo users to just take a patient "wait and see approach".

Mr. Brooks also claims that the initial handful of posts from various Palm staff are extremely helpful in that the basic, rudimentary information and advice given in the blog is suitable only for novice users. No mention is made concerning the furor raised by the delayed 700p ROM update or Palm's noncommittal stance on what it really will and will not fix.

Palm are taking small but fruitful steps on the way to becoming a more open corporate entity with a (hopfully) more sincere attitude and appreciate of their customer base. Essentially, the establishment of a corporate blog is is a long overdue but still welcome step in the right direction. But in my personal opinion, such a forum would be far more effectively utilized by an ongoing dialog between Palm management and power users and/or long-time stalwart supporters of the platform. The "official yet unofficial" nature of the corporate blog is seemingly better suited for this sort of nitty-gritty communication than casually dispensing advice or software recommendations to novice users.

The official Palm Blog is not the first time one of the Palm-companies has tried to lend a helping hand to novice users. PalmSource's (now part of Access) own "expert guides" were the brainchild of then-president Michael Mace. These guides were established several years ago and culled from information commonly available online as well as from user contributions. While rather dated, the expert guides still contain a good amount of information and links to useful applications for specific fields and topics.

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Hogwash

PacManFoo @ 5/1/2007 3:02:57 PM # Q
I could be wrong, but I think that if someone can afford a Treo then most likely they have WiFi in their homes. As someone who does IT for a living and on the side, I see in most cases this is the case.

Heck even I have an antiquated (what was referred to as a PDA in those days) called a Palm TX. No children it didn't have a phone in it believe it or not, I actually carried two devices. Even after ridicule and snickering of others I refused to stop using it, but I digress. Since having WiFi, I have been amazed how often I can find an open hotspot to check email and surf the web. Restaurants, Coffee Shops, and even Hotels have Wifi available and of course I use it at home and work all the time. Unfortunately this doesn't put more money in da mans pocket for you to have a "free" solution and so it came to pass that da man spread FUD regarding WiFi and pushed carriers that charged access fees and provided kick backs to da man. Now da man was happy again because his pockets were full and so he banished the PDA to the land of discontinued. He no longer would even mention the word PDA (see blog.palm.com).

PDA's Past and Present:
Palm - IIIxe, Vx, M500, M505, Tungsten T, TX
Handspring - Edge, Platinum, Deluxe
Sony - SJ22
Apple - MP110, MP2000, MP2100

RE: Hogwash
all74 @ 5/1/2007 3:50:50 PM # Q
I agree. What's holding Palm back from wifi is the carriers. There are free (or unsecure) spots to get online in every major city, meaning that the carriers lose out on the super-high fees for data. I'm amazed that T-Mobile allowed the dash to keep wifi - would have thought they'd nix it (ala the blackjack). I'm getting really tired of the tripe that Palm is putting out there about wifi - first it's a battery problem, then it's that POS can't have both wifi and cell radio signals going, now this guy is saying "you wouldn't want it anyway". My advice - getting moving really quick Palm. Best bet - offer two options: keep the 680 or 700 or whatever as a nonwifi version for the carriers AND offer a 685 or 705 with wifi as an UNLOCKED only version.

I have been a longtime user of Palm or POS stuff. Heck, I even have a backup TX. But I am starting to look longer and longer at the Dash or other (EU/Asian) options. If Palm wants to keep dragging on this, as well as making phones the size of small bricks, they'll just keep losing customers.

Aaron

RE: Hogwash
cervezas @ 5/1/2007 5:36:10 PM # Q
During the Analysts Day presentation one of the Palm execs (I think it was Colligan) said "the vast majority of future Palm products will have WiFi embedded." I think I got that word for word.

I have to admit, I was somewhat surprised to hear this because I assumed that the conventional logic reiterated in this article would probably hold for a while. But it sounds like Palm is planning to make WiFi a front-and-center part of the "fast web experience" that they kept talking about during that presentation.

David Beers
Pikesoft Mobile Computing
www.pikesoft.com/blog

RE: Hogwash
kpr @ 5/1/2007 7:56:30 PM # Q
For me, no Wi-Fi = NO SALE.

RE: Hogwash
painted_dog @ 5/1/2007 10:17:23 PM # Q
I absolutely agree, Palm's lack of Wi-fi show how much they don't understand their user. & it (Wi-fi) is one of the reasons i bought a Nokia e61 (it has Wi-Fi, not to mention 5 bands for true globe trotting (including Japan!)).

If the premise is that the avg joe can't handle Wi-fi, the the avg joe sure wouldn't be able to handle a treo (if one were to follow Palm's no-Wi-fi line of thought).

But generally i'm got sick & tired of being a dissed palm user (& i had been a loyal one, i had previous 4 other palm devices & got one for my wife) but no more. I wish them well & like to see them earn their stripes again, but i fear they are too far off & they will be replaced or fade away.

I will continue watch.

-painted dog

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OK, somebody help me out here...

moofie @ 5/2/2007 12:40:14 AM # Q
Why is the only significant news coming out of Palm the fact that they're starting a BLOG?

I've got an idea, Palm bloggers. Get to work on fixing my 700p. Then go figure out how to keep me from buying a 2nd generation iPhone. THEN, when you have something to talk about, start your blog.

I've been a Palm user for ten years, but this is really, really a ridiculous situation for them to have gotten themselves into.

Do they have a new OS? Do they have a way forward? Have they jettisoned WIndows Mobile like the distraction that it was? More to the point, WHEN is this stuff going to happen?

Huh. Maybe their blog will tell me this stuff, someday. Wonder if I'll still be a customer.

RE: OK, somebody help me out here...
jwmayo @ 5/2/2007 10:09:20 AM # Q
Unfortunately, Palm has made the decision for me. I have been waiting several years for a wi-fi enabled device and cannot wait any longer. Our company has a policy prohibiting camera phones due to restricitions by many of our customers. So, the only device left for me is a Blackberry :-(

After 10 years of faithful Palm usage I am jumping ship and will most likely not return unless Palm comes up with some device that soundly trumps the iPhone (fat chance).

Signing off...


Pilot1000 - Palm III - Palm III XE - Palm M500 - Tungsten/T - T5 - Blackberry 8700C

RE: OK, somebody help me out here...
joad @ 5/2/2007 11:50:53 AM # Q
WTF is a "BLOG," Palm? Aren't those for H4kkZ0r-5kiLL3d "Power Users"? You've already told us quite clearly that your Treo "target audience" is complete technology novices that like flashing expensive phones that can play Astraware games and maybe get their email-- that's your excuse for cutting corners on RAM, speed, reliability, bluetooth, ports, jacks, OS stabilization...

Ahhh... Eventually your continued blunders were filling up the "independent" forums (and spilling into the business pages) with so much bad news that you were inspired to create a forum that you have control over. That way you can hope that your "target audience" will come to your "Blog" and see that everything is fine (because you can edit out anything you don't want known), rather than go to where the "Power Users" hang out and will honestly point out the shortcomings of your devices. I'll stick to PIC, TC,MTDN and other places where real users post, rather than a corporate-sponsored PR site.



RE: OK, somebody help me out here...
cervezas @ 5/2/2007 5:04:05 PM # Q
Why is the only significant news coming out of Palm the fact that they're starting a BLOG?

So the announcement that they have developed their own Linux-powered successor to the Palm OS, that it will have a desktop-quality AJAX-enabled browser like Opera 9 integrated into it, and that they'll be embedding WiFi in the vast majority of all future products isn't significant?

Personally, I think the fact that Palm risked starting a company blog is a sign that they are at a point where they have enough positive news in the pipeline to keep it from being a fiasco for them. More directly to the point, it's in the form of a blog because they think the news that's in the pipeline will appeal to the kind of user that reads blogs: tech savvy users that use the Internet a lot. Users like the ones who are posting comments on Palm enthusiast sites.

Our company has a policy prohibiting camera phones due to restricitions by many of our customers. So, ...I am jumping ship and will most likely not return unless Palm comes up with some device that soundly trumps the iPhone

So get a Treo without a camera: http://forum.treonauts.com/treo-models/treo-680/1583-cingular-treo-680-no-camera.html

You think the iPhone will be available without one?


David Beers
Pikesoft Mobile Computing
www.pikesoft.com/blog

RE: OK, somebody help me out here...
hkklife @ 5/2/2007 5:05:39 PM # Q
The saddest thing about all of this is that Palm already has the tech scattered across their existing product line to make something at least within shouting distance. They just seem to take 2 steps forward and a 1.5 steps backwards most of the time.

Take the TX's 320x480 screen, add in the Treo 650/700 removable high-capacity battery, bring along the T5's internal flash drive (but bump it up to a gig or so), and add the 680's SDHC slot (supports 8gb of REMOVABLE media so this actually trumps the iPhone). Then toss in a 3.5mm stereo headphone jack for good measure and you're got a fasntastic little device that cannot rival the iPhone in looks, refincement, sleekness or wow factor. But such a beast could bring the majority of the iPhone featureset (320x480 screen, wi-fi, BT, 8gb storage) to the table for hundreds less AND is an "open" platform that we are all familiar with. AND such a Treo could be offered in EVDO version, blowing the first-gen EDGE iPhone out of the water.



Pilot 1000-->Pilot 5000-->PalmPilot Pro-->IIIe-->Vx-->m505-->T|T-->T|T2-->T|C-->T|T3-->T|T5-->TX-->Treo 700P

RE: OK, somebody help me out here...
freakout @ 5/2/2007 7:32:23 PM # Q
I've got an idea, Palm bloggers. Get to work on fixing my 700p-

They are. Have you actually read the blog you keep complaining about?

Then go figure out how to keep me from buying a 2nd generation iPhone.

Ha ha ha. In 2009?



Tim
I apologise for any and all emoticons that appear in my posts. You may shoot them on sight.
Treo 270 ---> Treo 650 ---> Crimson Treo 680

RE: OK, somebody help me out here...
hkklife @ 5/2/2007 9:19:02 PM # Q
I must admit--today's Palm blog post (on traffic tips), while mostly only useful to residents of the Bay Area, is their best type of blog posting yet. A genuine useful article filled with information that really is beyond the scope of "Like MP3s on your Treo? Try PocketTunes Deluxe...(purchase link here)"

P.S.
While Beersie brings up a very good point about the abundance of (refreshingly) good news out of Palm Inc. lately, I wouldn't hold my breath on the wi-fi integration. After all, wasn't it Colligan in late '04 or early '05 who promised that the wi-fi SDIO card drivers for the Treo 650 were forthcoming?

I wonder if the Palm blog will evolve (permutate?) into the sort of forum where concerned, FIERCELY loyal users such as most of us PIC regulars can ask Palm the hard-hitting questions. HIGHLY unlikely but we can always dream, can't we?

Some examples questions I'd LOVE to see addressed would be: Why did Palm never pursue a Graffiti classic/Graffiti 2 strategy, what future if any does Palm see for standalone PDAs, Why has Palm dragged their feet on full Vista compatibility with Palm Desktop, why were the Treo 650/T5/LifeDrive/700p released in such buggy/crippled states etc etc? And those are just basic product-related questions. You could open up a whole 'nother can of worms with biz-related questions of the type raised by TVoR. While I understand that Palm's legal dept. would likely frown upon addressing any of those issues past the basic corporate PR safe-speak, it'd at least make for interesting trying to read between the lines of their responses.

Pilot 1000-->Pilot 5000-->PalmPilot Pro-->IIIe-->Vx-->m505-->T|T-->T|T2-->T|C-->T|T3-->T|T5-->TX-->Treo 700P

RE: OK, somebody help me out here...
sungod @ 5/4/2007 7:13:06 PM # Q
hkklife,
"Why did Palm never pursue a Graffiti classic/Graffiti 2 strategy"?
They were sued by fuji/zerox for patent violation and can no longer use graffiti1.
"what future if any does Palm see for standalone PDAs"?
Probably none(fingers crossed this isn't true) since they are about to release what a lot of people believe is there UMPC. I just hope I get at least 1 good T|X replacement with the new OS. I'm sick of Opera crashing whenever I switch to landscape for too long.
"Why has Palm dragged their feet on full Vista compatibility with Palm Desktop"?
Palm hasn't, Palm desktop is owned by Access now. They are the ones dragging their feet. The Treo 755 will ship with “Garnet Desktop”.
"why were the Treo 650/T5/LifeDrive/700p released in such buggy/crippled states"
Once again we have Access/PalmSource to blame for this. Palm is pushing Garnet as far as it can over new hardware, with little or no support from access, and it's starting to stretch so thin holes are forming.

On another note what has happened to TVoR he seemed to appear for 3 or 4 days and pissed off again.
Can't he handle a little criticism?
I personally don't like having my questions ignored.

How good are cargo pants, they're a gadget lovers best friend.

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don't use your real email address

joad @ 5/2/2007 12:16:47 PM # Q
Palm has apparently decided that if you give them your email address in a post, they will expose it to the world. Expect spambots to fill up your inbox as Palm is leaving email addresses exposed in plain text (hover over the person's name). Post with a phony or "drop" email to be safe.

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