FCC Withdraws Approval for Palm, Handspring Wireless Handhelds

Posted By: Ed Thursday, August 30, 2001 10:13:28 AM

The FCC, which earlier this week gave approval to both Palm and Handspring to release new wireless handhelds, has now changed the status of these products to Pending and removed the information about them from its site.

This isn't an indication that the FCC has actually found problems with the devices. Instead, both companies simply forgot to request that the information on their new products not be made available to the public until closer to their official release dates.

Bruce Franca, acting chief of the FCC's Office of Engineering and Technology, told Cnet, "We will, at the request of the manufacturer, defer the grants," he said. "All they have to do is check a box."

Once a product has been approved by the FCC, the information about it must appear on their site. So the status for all three of these handhelds has been temporarily changed from Approved to Pending so the companies can keep details of the devices private until they choose to announce them.

Earlier this week, Palm received approval for the i705, a model with "always on" wireless modem capability. The next day, Handspring got approval for two smartphones to be called the Treo k180 and g180.

Thanks to John, Justin T., and Phil Miller for the tip. -Ed

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Amusing

EGarrido @ 8/30/2001 10:30:54 AM #

That's just down-right funny. I figured palm and handspring didn't want that info getting out to consumers. it's interesting, though, that both companies failed to "check a box."

Eric Garrido

Can you say "More inventory dumping please"?

I.M. Anonymous @ 8/30/2001 10:36:52 AM #

Palm and HS have been acting like morons all year. It seems they can do nothing right with respect to the confidentiality of upcoming hardware releases, and their inventory problems only get worse. If Sony or Panasonic doesn't gobble up an emaciated Palm within the next year, we'd all better start preparing ourselves for eventually becoming PPC users, because the zen of Palm is going down the cosmic toilet, what with so many idiots at the repsective helms of these two companies.

RE: Amusing

I.M. Anonymous @ 8/30/2001 5:16:20 PM #

In all modesty Sir - you surely have a vital point and your absolutely correct about the cosmic toiltet.

There gone for good as there security is like a whaling net

RE: Amusing

AriB @ 8/30/2001 8:42:31 PM #

I think it was an intentional leak. I think they'd rather have leaks of something real instead of all the phony rumors that have been floated around lately. Since these devices can't be compared to anything out there except for RIM or Kyocera, I don't think this was a mistake.
However, I still think I should wait for Samsung. Color, nice design, voice and data-only thing is that it doesn't have MS or SD slot.

PALM and HAND need to get their act together.

I.M. Anonymous @ 8/30/2001 10:56:19 AM #

Come on guys. This is not helping. At least the models shown should not hurt their low end models.

Good lesson for Sony & Ericsson.

I.M. Anonymous @ 8/30/2001 11:09:15 AM #

What's the point?

jayhawk88 @ 8/30/2001 12:39:45 PM #

OK, so Palm and Handspring screwed up by not checking the right box or something, but why the pull of approval from "approved" to "pending"? The cat's already out of the bag; it's not like we're going to glean any more information from the FCC stuff.

We all know these items are coming, and we know approximately when they're coming. Anyone who would have eventually heard about this information already has; it's not like we're all going to forget about them and rush out to buy 7x's and Visor Phones.

RE: What's the point?

I.M. Anonymous @ 8/30/2001 1:15:04 PM #

Actually, it was the FCC's screwup (wait for it...)

That's not how I'm reading it

jayhawk88 @ 8/30/2001 1:42:10 PM #

"The reason for the FCC's initial actions was that Palm and Handspring originally failed to indicate on their applications that they wanted to delay approval until they were closer to announcing their products, said Bruce Franca, acting chief of the FCC's Office of Engineering and Technology."

Maybe this is the FCC CYAing, but this makes it sound like they just didn't fill out their apps right. Wonder how many heads rolled over this?

RE: What's the point?

Raishe_werk @ 8/30/2001 3:34:52 PM #

in response 'what's the point': specifically running out and buying a visor phone. we are not a representative sample of palm users. even for the newbies and trolls, we are still far more informed than the average palm users. the average new palm user will see 'Wireless palm, now only $199. Internet access everywhere'. thats it, they are sold. it doesn't matter that the model is 3 years old, or that its a brick, or it doesn't have color. they heard palm before, they have a geek friend that swears by his, and they want one and its a good deal. i am here a couple of times a week because Ed does a great job of keeping me up todate of what is going on. my ex brother in law came up to me yesterday and said.. hey did you see the wireless palm that is out. its only $199 on amazon. to him, a soon to be graduating MIS major that was it. there was no news or talk about a 70x series palms or handsprings. i don't think that we are much of the market share. i guess we could calculate it very roughly by Ed's logs (unique IP's or i am sure there is a better way) and dividing it by the latest number of Palm and HS sold. if i were palm, i would be like 'screw those guys, they want the latest thing out there, and are going to spend countless hours combing stores and the internet to find the absolutly cheapest price, then proceed to run back to thier holes and post it on thier msg board'
ok now that i am done ranting and my temp is coming back down from the thai food. this was pretty funny. i guess if or when these companies go under, it will not be because of faulty product, but faulty management.

-Raishe
"Monster Pig kills Jesus
More at 11"

Yeah, that's the ticket

I.M. Anonymous @ 8/30/2001 4:47:04 PM #

Nobody is really buying that explanation are they? Welcome to PDA marketing in the 21st century. These stories are scooped, they are intentionally leaked. There was no screw up; it was done intentionally to keep the short term market interested in the product. "What is that you say, Palm and Handspring are still in the game with new innovations? I'd better invest and/or keep my money in!" or "Hmmm, I suppose I don't really want that Kyocera Smartphone or Blackberry after all." I'm waiting for the new Palm or HS wireless!" Yeah, that's the ticket. The attorneys and Intellectual Property guys at *both* leading marketshare companies with strict security policies and proceedures to protect against corporate spying forgot to check a box and leaked this to the world. Yeah, that's the ticket. ;-)

RE: What's the point?

I.M. Anonymous @ 8/30/2001 5:31:13 PM #

You're right on. They have even gone so far as to request that PDA websites remove most or all of the images which they copied from the FCC site during the brief time that they were available. Not only do Palm and HS want to get the word out, they want to control the extent to which it is well known--just enough, but not too much.

Thats the point!

I.M. Anonymous @ 8/30/2001 7:04:08 PM #

The historical records showed painfully for the sales (m500 / m505) that in this field Palm is surely not so clever and shrewed as you suspect.

Its plain inability to keep the mouth shut at a proper time

RE: What's the point?

AriB @ 8/30/2001 8:48:36 PM #

maybe it is the proper time

RE: What's the point?

I.M. Anonymous @ 8/31/2001 5:53:54 AM #

Surely not - it will massively hurt current sales of the m500 / m505.

The history is repeating itself 1:1 with the to early introduction of that 500 line resulting that the company was nearly brought down to his knees – Palm had to open the Indian market overnight to dump their IIIC e.g. stocks below price.

Remember?

Bravo to Ed & Ryan!

mikecane @ 8/30/2001 2:02:01 PM #

Bravo to you two guys (publicly, yet!) for breaking the details on the Palm i7xx and the two new HS Treos. Matt Drudge should still have such scoops (hah!).

The Treo is a very interesting device that just might make a mint for HS. It shows imagination and innovation in design, a desire not to be bound to the past (ie, no SB slot!), and a determination to go where the money is. I'm not at all in the
market for these devices (I can no longer stomach 160x160 mono), but these should appeal to the Speed Set who are currently wooed by the Blackberry.

As for the Palm i7xx -- same old, same old, alas.

160x160 monochome

drw @ 8/30/2001 9:41:11 PM #

Remember when laptops were all monochrome? Then a few colors popped out for about $3-5k? Eventually the color prices came down, and then the monochromes went away. Same needs to happen in the handheld market. Nobody wants monochrome anymore. Why are they still producing them?

David in Pflugerville, TX

RE: Bravo to Ed & Ryan!

I.M. Anonymous @ 8/30/2001 9:51:55 PM #

There are still some of us using monochrome Texass.

You freakin' texasasss' always seem to think y'all
know what the hell is going on; well ya dont

RE: 160x160 monochome

I.M. Anonymous @ 8/31/2001 8:58:14 AM #

"Same needs to happen in the handheld market. Nobody wants monochrome anymore. Why are they still producing them?"

Probably because all of the current color screens suck. I certainly wouldn't pay good money for any of the ones currently out. They're all dim and provide poor viewing angles in comparison to what is needed for a handheld. I sure hope OLED or something like it makes a difference in those areas.

RE: Bravo to Ed & Ryan!

mikecane @ 8/31/2001 1:48:57 PM #

The CLIE screen sucks?! Perhaps there is a bit of disappointment w/o the backlight (indoors), but it is rather frugal in its energy management and most people use the backlight indoors at a very low level. It's hard to see (no pun intended) how anyone could complain about that screen.

Of course, I think most advanced users still desire a Virtual Graffiti area...