Ed Colligan Would Not Have Spun off PalmSource

In an recent interview Palm CEO Ed Colligan states that he would not have spun off PalmSource from Palm. He stated that he would "probably not" have separated the operating system group had he been in charge at the time.

Of course, Ed Colligan was not in charge of Palm at the time. He was President of Handspring at the time, and Handspring later merged with Palm. PalmSource officially spun off from Palm in 2003. The interview on CBR states:

Colligan said that had it been up to him, he would "probably not" have spun off PalmSource in the first place. "If we owned the platform, could we do more integration right up the stack with that? Probably yes," he said.

But he was also adamant that all is not lost. "Is it possible to make great products if you own the platform? Yes," he said. "But is it also possible to make great products when you don't own the platform? I'd say yes to that too."

Thanks to Gaurav and David Beers for the tip.

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Palm making own PIM

sr4 @ 10/31/2005 3:18:44 PM # Q

Its always interesting to look at the Palm job boards, as they often let things slip. It appears they are taking the Palm Experience platform independent.

Product Manager -Calendar,Contacts, Email (Andover,MA) Job code: 524
Job Category: Marketing

Job Description:
Overview:

The Product Manager will be responsible for the definition and design of several applications for multiple product lines at Palm. Primary focus of the position will be on Calendar and Contacts applications, with involvement supporting Email projects as needed.. . He/she will work with counterparts on the product team, as well as other product managers (both in Andover and at Palm Headquarters in California).

Duties/Responsibilities:

- Drive complete definition of Calendar and Contacts functionality for upcoming Palm OS-based handhelds and smartphones
- Own product marketing for PIM for Palm's Windows Mobile-based products
- Work with Engineering team to ensure that all functions and priorities are well understood and scoped
- Work with User Interface team to complete definition of application user interface
- Facilitate discussion of feature prioritization for various features and drive closure on design issues
- Work with System Software Product Manager to identify and prioritize features required in the system software to support application functionality
- Coordinate internal usability studies of early application releases and determine changes required to design or implement various features
- Own ultimate accountability for delivery of a world class user experience for assigned applications


http://www.maxhire.net/clients/MH160/jobsearch_detail.asp?reference=524

The relevance to the topic?

But he was also adamant that all is not lost. "Is it possible to make great products if you own the platform? Yes," he said. "But is it also possible to make great products when you don't own the platform? I'd say yes to that too."

They are not going to be tied down to POS or WM. Also I think they plan to make their own non-Access POS-Linux hybrid. At which point they will again own their own platform.

Surur

RE: Palm making own PIM
cervezas @ 10/31/2005 3:31:26 PM # Q
Surer wrote:
They are not going to be tied down to POS or WM. Also I think they plan to make their own non-Access POS-Linux hybrid.

Palm has never been tied down to the system that they got from PalmSource, so I'm not sure why this comes as some kind of revelation. And Palm's innovations (e.g. the enhanced PIM apps and their underlying data structure) have often been folded back into the Palm OS by PalmSource, so that Palm has continued to contribute in important ways to the Palm OS platform itself since the split.

IMO, Palm is also going to have considerable leverage over ACCESS in the direction of the OS development. Hell, they were able to push even Microsoft around a bit to get the control they wanted over Windows Mobile 5.0 (though I doubt that's comparable to the level of control Colligan wishes he had over Palm OS right now).

I can't rule out that Palm might be working on their own Linux platform to suit the requirements they have for their Next Big Thing. Those "Third Business" devices may very well be far enough afield from the old PDA/smartphone domain that they need something quite different in the middleware. Whether they would be able to (technically or legally) maintain compatibility with Palm OS within a homegrown system is hard to know. But even if some of their future Linux devices don't run the Palm OS middleware, I expect their participation in the growth and development of Palm OS will continue much as it has in the past.

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

Brilliant
Mauibro @ 10/31/2005 3:34:58 PM # Q
Agreed Surur.
They are creating an independent OS based on Linux.
They already own the name
It will in fact be the only "PalmOS"

Access dissed palm Os, why?
They soon will have Garnet, and their future Linux phone Os true but not "PalmOS"
They cant even call it that.

Palm has in fact done an end around to get back their OS.
A Linux based PalmOS Better and bader than wimpy Garnet, or a dumbed down Linux Phone OS from Access.
Something that can take on winmobile.
Win mobile Treo, a temporary cash cow, continues to sell to ms diehards, while building a real future with this new OS.

People fail to see the long term plan while bashing recent releases or the windows Treo.
I tell you those are temporary measures.
Rather than split resources trying to create the ultimate garnet device, or tons of new form factors , they improve current devices incrementally, enough to make a profit, while R and D goes to the future OS.

Brilliant.
And so many are convinced Palm is run by idiots.

RE: Palm making own PIM
craigdts @ 10/31/2005 3:43:52 PM # Q
I think your right. Palmsource hasn't brought anything to the table in a while.

Also he says something like, "I hope Palmsource does well as a company." To me this mean "Palmsource, cya later."

We may get a glimpse of this OS, IF the rumored linux feature phone is released by end of this year. I think we will have one more Garnet Treo smartphone (treo 700p), then it moves to linux, msft, and maybe symbian.

RE: Palm making own PIM
sr4 @ 10/31/2005 4:29:34 PM # Q

David, the advert is not talking about "enhancing" the PIM apps, it talks about making new ones from scratch. And they are not going to give them to Access for free either. This is why I am convinced they are planning to make a Linux PDA/smartphone separate from Access. And if Styletap can sell POS compatibility, so can Palm.

Surur

RE: Palm making own PIM
twizza @ 10/31/2005 4:36:24 PM # Q
SR4;
I agree, and not because its the right thing to do either :)

mobileministrymagazine.com
antoinerjwright.com
RE: Palm making own PIM
hkklife @ 10/31/2005 4:40:35 PM # Q
I agree. One more FrankenGarnet Treo, one more Garnet low or midrange device and that's IT. Maybe an LD2 but I wouldn't hold my breath on that one.

'06 will be a year of selling the existing stocks of the "same ol' ****" for Palm and pushing the Treo 700w as strongly as possible.

I think it's funny that it's taken this long for "official" comments to start creeping out on the PalmSource spin-off blunder/shell game/hoax.

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

RE: Palm making own PIM
cervezas @ 10/31/2005 4:46:32 PM # Q
Surer wrote:
if Styletap can sell POS compatibility, so can Palm.

Good point. As I've been saying for a while now, there do seem to be noises in the air that indicate Palm has been doing something in the Linux realm that could be quite independent of PalmSource.

It certainly would be interesting if Palm were able to deliver a Palm-branded, fully Palm OS compatible Linux platform before (or anywhere near the time) PalmSource was able to complete theirs. Interesting to think about... interesting in a sense that falls somewhere between "the wreckage from the Roswell UFO crash sure is interesting" and "Harriet Miers was an interesting nominee for the Supreme Court." :)

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

RE: Palm making own PIM
The_Voice_of_Reason @ 10/31/2005 5:16:09 PM # Q
Yes Surur, Palm is trying to make its own PalmLinux. Only problems are that:

1) they started late
2) they aren't operating in a vacuum - Windows Mobile, Symbian, PalmSource/Access PalmLinux, and multiple proprietary flavors of the Linux theme have already been produced and are reaching different stages of maturity
3) OS development is hard work and doesn't happen overnight - expect at least 2 or 3 years of frantic development to create a decent OS
4) Palm lacks the software engineering resources to pull this off quickly

Trying to stay alive long enough for one more "Hail Mary" pass by suckling on the pus-filled Windows Mobile teat is a desperate move that will be quickly snuffed out by competition that has finally awoken.

TVoR

------------------------
Sony CLIE UX100: 128 MB real RAM, OLED screen. All the PDA anyone really ever wanted.
------------------------

The Palm eCONomy = Communism™

The Great Palm Swindle: http://www.palminfocenter.com/comment_view.asp?ID=7864#108038

NetFrontLinux - the next major cellphone OS?: http://www.palminfocenter.com/comment_view.asp?ID=8060#111823

Palm not necessarily new to Linux
cervezas @ 10/31/2005 6:03:27 PM # Q
TVoR wrote:
they started late.... OS development is hard work and doesn't happen overnight - expect at least 2 or 3 years of frantic development to create a decent OS

Who says they started late? The people who a year ago broke the news that Palm was building a Windows Treo said at the same time that Palm had already been working with Linux "for some time."

Palm lacks the software engineering resources to pull this off quickly

There are embedded Linux vendors who would be more than happy to give them a hand if that was the limiting factor. Like Wind River, the source of the admittedly dubious "Palm Linux phone by Christmas" rumor.

I'm not saying I necessarily believe there is a "shadow Palm Linux" running right now on some device in Palm's underground skunkworks bunker, much less one that's ready for market, but there's nothing in anything you've said here that would prevent this from being the case.

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

Get serious, Beersy.
The_Voice_of_Reason @ 10/31/2005 7:21:52 PM # Q
Who says they started late? The people who a year ago broke the news that Palm was building a Windows Treo said at the same time that Palm had already been working with Linux "for some time."

Unless they started in around 2002 then it's too late - assuming we are to expect a well-rounded, thoroughly-tested OS. Of course, ANYONE could hack together bits and pieces of Linux and call it an OS, but - as Motorola has shown - that's not necessarily A Good Thing.

TVoR

------------------------
Sony CLIE UX100: 128 MB real RAM, OLED screen. All the PDA anyone really ever wanted.
------------------------

The Palm eCONomy = Communism™

The Great Palm Swindle: http://www.palminfocenter.com/comment_view.asp?ID=7864#108038

NetFrontLinux - the next major cellphone OS?: http://www.palminfocenter.com/comment_view.asp?ID=8060#111823

Wake up TVoR
cervezas @ 10/31/2005 8:24:47 PM # Q
Wind River's new Linux consumer device platform was announced this month and they have dropped that it will power a smartphone that *someone* is releasing in the US before Christmas.

Now you and I may doubt that this someone is Palm, but aside from a comment made by Ed Colligan that "we don't need anymore platforms" [than the three we've been working with for the last two years] why couldn't it be?

As a side note that is of interest, note the short timespan between Wind River's release of its "Platform for Consumer Electronics, Linux Edition" and the expected release of the first phone running this OS: less than 3 months.

Is Wind River full of crap? Maybe so, maybe not.

Is Linux the answer to Windows Mobile, receding glaciers, and the painful itching and swelling of hemorrhoidal tissue?

Absolutely.

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

RE: Palm making own PIM
hkklife @ 10/31/2005 9:37:24 PM # Q
Well, Palm's been hacking away at OS5 since 2001/2002 and they've only managed to make it WORSE with each iteration released since OS 5.2....

I highly, highly doubt Palm has anything planned for the remainder of '05. Getting out a LD update would be big enough news for them.

Don't count on anything until the 700W hits Verizon like a ton of bricks in Jan/Feb (historically, Verizon's liked to always open the new year with a couple of good promos and some new handsets).


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

RE: Palm making own PIM
Gekko @ 10/31/2005 10:07:37 PM # Q

Why try to grow a duck for eggs when chicken eggs are plentiful, desired, accepted, nutritious, proven, effective, and cheap?

WINMOB RULES.



Beersy, now I'm getting worried about you.
The_Voice_of_Reason @ 10/31/2005 10:29:38 PM # Q
Wind River's new Linux consumer device platform was announced this month and they have dropped that it will power a smartphone that *someone* is releasing in the US before Christmas.

Now you and I may doubt that this someone is Palm, but aside from a comment made by Ed Colligan that "we don't need anymore platforms" [than the three we've been working with for the last two years] why couldn't it be?

Yes it could very well be Palm, but if it is, Colligan's even loonier than I thought he was. PalmOS 5, Windows Mobile, PalmLinux, WindyLinux... why not port the Coleco Adam OS to Palms while they're at it? I'd expect WindyLinux will be either yet another ill-conceived Motorola-style Linux proof-of-concept or an ultra-skimpy feature phone style OS. Either way, sounds like the answer to a question no one's asking. Look at what's already in the market: WinMob, Symbian (including UIQ), Linux feature phones, PalmOS 5. Oh and (according to you)... Cobalt. What the he11 would WindyLinux offer (besides maybe a proprietary OS controlled only by Palm) that you can't already get? Bupkis, Bubba. Bupkis.

As a side note that is of interest, note the short timespan between Wind River's release of its "Platform for Consumer Electronics, Linux Edition" and the expected release of the first phone running this OS: less than 3 months.

That's the kind of time frame that instills a lot of confidence that this will be a quality product, right Beersy?

Is Wind River full of crap? Maybe so, maybe not.

I'll take "maybe so" for $200 please, Alex.

Is Linux the answer to Windows Mobile, receding glaciers, and the painful itching and swelling of hemorrhoidal tissue?

Absolutely.

Please keep your "tissue" problems out of posts here.

TVoR



------------------------
Sony CLIE UX100: 128 MB real RAM, OLED screen. All the PDA anyone really ever wanted.
------------------------

The Palm eCONomy = Communism™

The Great Palm Swindle: http://www.palminfocenter.com/comment_view.asp?ID=7864#108038

NetFrontLinux - the next major cellphone OS?: http://www.palminfocenter.com/comment_view.asp?ID=8060#111823

RE: Palm making own PIM
LiveFaith @ 10/31/2005 10:54:19 PM # Q
I'm going to apply for that and at least write the code so that when a user returns to Contacts from another app, they won't lose their place and have to re-search the record again. That's worth something.

Pat Horne; www.churchoflivingfaith.com
RE: Palm making own PIM
cervezas @ 10/31/2005 11:15:47 PM # Q
Don't go gettin' all "on-topic" on us, there, Pat.

David Beers
Pikesoft Mobile Computing
Software Everywhere blog
www.pikesoft.com/blog
RE: Palm making own PIM
The_Voice_of_Reason @ 10/31/2005 11:27:45 PM # Q
What the he11 is the Reverend talking about, Beersy?

;-O

------------------------
Sony CLIE UX100: 128 MB real RAM, OLED screen. All the PDA anyone really ever wanted.
------------------------

The Palm eCONomy = Communism™

The Great Palm Swindle: http://www.palminfocenter.com/comment_view.asp?ID=7864#108038

NetFrontLinux - the next major cellphone OS?: http://www.palminfocenter.com/comment_view.asp?ID=8060#111823

RE: Palm making own PIM
sr4 @ 11/1/2005 2:41:02 AM # Q

There's a few things arguing against a Linux phone in the very near future, mainly things that Colligan said, such as no Linux phone and no feature phones. I'm sure however they have one in their skunk works (much more sure than that supposed Symbian Treo).

Surur

RE: Palm making own PIM
LiveFaith @ 11/1/2005 9:44:21 AM # Q
VR,
Most Palmsource/Palm PIM apps do not "return" to the previous point of operation when going from/to other apps. If you have a 10-digit phone number (in your case, Prez W's cell or Gates direct line etc.)scribbled on NotePad and you want to enter it with as a new contact. When you put in the info in Contacts, you had better remember it all because if you return to NotePad to get the rest and return to Contacts, then Contacts will not be at the place you left but at the top of the list.

That's what in the H3av3n I'm talking about. ;-)

Dave, maybe you guys can write a hack called PIMPlace, aka "PIMP" that will do it. I'll beta test it 4 ya.

Pat Horne; www.churchoflivingfaith.com

RE: Palm making own PIM
AdamaDBrown @ 11/1/2005 3:07:43 PM # Q
I've wondered in the past whether Palm is cooking up their own Linux OS. Call me crazy, but that would certainly seem more logical reason for hiring Linux programmers than starting development for an OS which, under the rosiest scenario, won't be available for a year, and won't be in a Palm device for two years. At the very least, it makes sense that they would want to have a fallback position in case PSRC Linux went the way of Cobalt, or if Access decided to meddle.

TVOR, I disagree that it neccessarily takes a huge amounnt of time to develop an OS. Yes, if you're trying to build it from the ground up, or if you have an enormous code base that you need to maintain and update, then it becomes quite difficult. But I suspect that you could develop a simple Palm/Linux hybrid rather quickly if you dumped most of the legacy code. Start with a basic Mobile Linux implementation, put a Palm-esque UI on top of it, and integrate an equivalent to StyleTap to handle most existing apps. It's quick and dirty, but it would probably work, and the break in compatibility won't be any better or worse than if you haul in your legacy code and try to keep it running.

I suspect that Wind River is full of it, and that their vague statement that there will be a device released "soon" is just to get their would-be platform some recognition. Even if it does pan out, it certainly won't be from Palm.

For what it's worth, I don't think that Colligan's statement about no new OSes applies to PalmSource's Linux projects, or anything Palm might be whipping up in that regard. What he said was that they don't have any plans to release models running any other operating systems in the near future. But they also said that in the slightly longer term, they would like to standardize on a single OS across the board. The implication was that they were talking about PalmSource's OS, but that's not guaranteed.

RE: Palm making own PIM
Dr Opinion @ 11/1/2005 6:53:58 PM # Q
> "...whether Palm is cooking up their own Linux OS. Call me crazy, but that would certainly seem more logical reason for hiring Linux programmers than starting development for an OS which, under the rosiest scenario, won't be available for a year..."

Actually, you're looking at it all wrong. :)

Since Palm CEO has said that there is definitely, categorically, absolutely not another OS in the works, the fact that Palm is hiring Linux guys proves that Palm Linux will be out *soon*. :)

Wow! Great news! :)



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

Reply to this comment

Competition: bad for Palm, good for users

cervezas @ 10/31/2005 3:15:37 PM # Q
Not to be a cynic or anything, but let's be honest and recognize that control over the OS isn't the only reason that Colligan would like PalmSource back under Palm's roof again. Palm has profited from the disappearance of competing Palm OS licensees like Sony and Handspring, so the prospect of renewed competition from Palm Linux licensees can't be a really happy thing for them. Even if Palm didn't explicitly limit the signing of new licensees, the mere fact that prospective licensees would be dependent on a competitor for meeting product release deadlines and the like would scare enough of them away to ensure that Palm continued to hold a de facto monopoly over the OS.

For the Palm OS user community I have a feeling that the split will actually be vindicated as a good thing in the next couple of years. Palm users should care more about the future of the platform than of one licensee, even though that licensee virtually is the platform at this moment. If the OS is going to be able to compete with the likes of WM and Symbian it needs to be bolstered by healthy competition among Palm OS hardware vendors.

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

Looks like I've "turned" Beersy...
The_Voice_of_Reason @ 10/31/2005 10:59:59 PM # Q
Not to be a cynic or anything, but let's be honest and recognize that control over the OS isn't the only reason that Colligan would like PalmSource back under Palm's roof again. Palm has profited from the disappearance of competing Palm OS licensees like Sony and Handspring, so the prospect of renewed competition from Palm Linux licensees can't be a really happy thing for them. Even if Palm didn't explicitly limit the signing of new licensees, the mere fact that prospective licensees would be dependent on a competitor for meeting product release deadlines and the like would scare enough of them away to ensure that Palm continued to hold a de facto monopoly over the OS.

Well done, Beersy! Don't worry about the puncture wounds on your neck - they'll heal quickly.

Next stop: finding you some better clothes more befitting of a minion of Nosferatu.

"You're one of us!"

TVoR

------------------------
Sony CLIE UX100: 128 MB real RAM, OLED screen. All the PDA anyone really ever wanted.
------------------------

The Palm eCONomy = Communism™

The Great Palm Swindle: http://www.palminfocenter.com/comment_view.asp?ID=7864#108038

NetFrontLinux - the next major cellphone OS?: http://www.palminfocenter.com/comment_view.asp?ID=8060#111823

Great.
cervezas @ 10/31/2005 11:17:24 PM # Q
TVoR wrote:
"You're one of us!"

Wow. I can feel my brain cells dying by the millions.

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

Another Beersy LIE exposed!
The_Voice_of_Reason @ 10/31/2005 11:28:59 PM # Q
cells???

Ahem.

In order to have brain cells die, you would have to already have more than one to begin with. Ergo, you just posted another Beersy LIE. Shame!

------------------------
Sony CLIE UX100: 128 MB real RAM, OLED screen. All the PDA anyone really ever wanted.
------------------------

The Palm eCONomy = Communism™

The Great Palm Swindle: http://www.palminfocenter.com/comment_view.asp?ID=7864#108038

NetFrontLinux - the next major cellphone OS?: http://www.palminfocenter.com/comment_view.asp?ID=8060#111823

Reply to this comment

Interesting ine -'Some carriers did not want POS'

sr4 @ 10/31/2005 3:40:26 PM # Q

He said the decision to support Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 on some devices was made partly to give customers choice, partly because some of its carrier partners did not want devices based on Palm OS, and partly because some enterprises it wants to sell to have a "Microsoft only" attitude.

These carriers are making OS choices for all their users. Why did they want WM and not POS? Maybe this is the reason.

The key findings of the study are that smart devices are associated with increase in ARPU for mobile operators by an average of 20%, and that Windows Mobile-enabled smart devices are associated with increases in of ARPU 37%. When all appropriate costs aretaken into consideration smart devices also result in increases in AMPU, of 93% in the caseof Windows Mobile-enabled devices.

http://www.edgestrategies.com/Edge_-_Leveraging_Smart_Devices_for_Mobile_Operator_Profitability_Exec_Summary.pdf

Just remember, these carriers bet on WM in 2003 already, prompting Palm to team up with Microsoft in February 2004.

Surur

RE: Interesting ine -'Some carriers did not want POS'
cervezas @ 10/31/2005 4:03:53 PM # Q
As the article goes on to point out after the part you quoted, ARPU does not = profitability. You have to look at the cost side as well as the revenue. Strangely, while the author provides some figures on how Windows Mobile devices increase data service provisioning costs and support costs, I didn't see a comparative analysis for the other platforms, which makes me question who commissioned the paper.

The article also mentions loyalty as a critical factor for the operators. Platform loyalty is still one of the areas where Palm OS blows Windows Mobile out of the water. I don't recall the exact figures, but they were quite impressive to me at the time I heard them.

What is clearly the case is that the carriers want to have ways to distinguish themselves from their competition. Now that all of them (in the US anyway) have Palm OS versions of the Treo it's totally natural that some would be looking for a Windows Mobile version, apart from any other considerations listed in the Edge Strategies analysis.


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

RE: Interesting ine -'Some carriers did not want POS'
twizza @ 10/31/2005 4:23:15 PM # Q
Nice find there. I agree that it was an interesting statement, but not one that anyone who knows the gov't and corporate MS shop mentality doesnt understand. In that respect, the PalmOS has been fighting uphill, and without an app that really set it apart (Apple had the graphic apps for a while anyways) there was never a compelling enough reason for folks to go PalmOS when WM plugged right in.

mobileministrymagazine.com
antoinerjwright.com
RE: Interesting line -'Some carriers did not want POS'
sr4 @ 10/31/2005 4:34:37 PM # Q
Platform loyalty is still one of the areas where Palm OS blows Windows Mobile out of the water. I don't recall the exact figures, but they were quite impressive to me at the time I heard them.

I think you mistook WM for POS in this article.

Customers were asked to rank their satisfaction with their current mobile device as "Excellent," "Good," "Average," "Below Average" or "Poor." The Dell Axim family topped the rankings with over 59 percent of owners giving the device "Excellent" ratings while another 37 percent rated it "Good." The next most highly ranked device was RIM's BlackBerry™ followed by the palmOne Treo.

Customers were also asked to name the brand of their previous mobile devices. Among the 92 percent of respondents who had upgraded to a new device, Windows Mobile customers were the most likely to upgrade to another Windows Mobile device of the same brand. Customers using other mobile operating systems were also more likely to upgrade to a Windows Mobile device than vice versa.


http://corp.handango.com/PressRelease.jsp?siteId=1&jid=F7AE3AX9AXD3D1X7C9C8X18F128F4336&CKey=1_PRESSRELEASE_PR051005&option=pressroom

AMPU (Average Margin Per User) was higher for WM, but they did not say how much higher. However if you remember that this was during the Treo 600 time (which had build quality and reliability issues) I am sure the margin for WM users were significantly higher than POS devices.

Surur

Surur

RE: Interesting ine -'Some carriers did not want POS'
cervezas @ 10/31/2005 4:36:54 PM # Q
As long as we're trotting out analyst reports to bolster our speculations about the future of Palm OS, how about this one:

http://www.ovum.com/go/content/c,59584

These guys describe the ACCESS/Palmsource merger as "a wake-up call for other players in the handset software market, which will need to react to a combined offering that, once integrated, will boast as near to a complete handset software platform as the market currently offers. More important still, that offering will now be in the hands of a company that has quietly become one of the most influential in its sector and is fully independent."

To date, of the various handset software vendors only Microsoft can claim to have come close to actually achieving ownership of all (or most) of the core elements of a future, broadly applicable, device platform. However, Windows Mobile-based offerings remain, for the most part, resolutely high-end. Only heavy discounting is helping force some devices into the mid market, and more of the same is likely....

As things stand, neither Microsoft nor Nokia can match either the range of options open to Access or the potential cost saving that might result, if it takes the path outlined above.


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

RE: Interesting line -'Some carriers did not want POS'
sr4 @ 10/31/2005 5:08:57 PM # Q

Interesting article, but it seems to make much of the possibility of cheap phones, due to Linux and owning the platform. However, MS has never stood back from making a loss to establish a platform, and the WM license is cheap enough already. Also the WM platform seems to be more focused on winning over carriers than branding themselves, which makes them more attractive to carriers.

Check out this T-Mobile website. All the own-branded t-mobile devices are WM phones, many are available for free, and they are all smartphones or PPC phones. The barrier for entry for consumers are low already. They don't need Linux to make it lower.

http://www.t-mobile.co.uk/Dispatcher?paymentPlanType=pmt&pmid=7231&nmid=phones_ews_overview&menuid=ctl_phones_details

Surur

RE: Interesting ine -'Some carriers did not want POS'
cervezas @ 10/31/2005 5:09:38 PM # Q
And while we're talking about what platform the wireless vendors are most interested in these days it's worth noting France Telecom's participation in founding this new Linux venture with Palmsource and the now usual mobile Linux suspects:

http://www.efytimes.com/fullnews.asp?edid=7625


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

Microsoft aims to become the standard 1st. Profits later.
The_Voice_of_Reason @ 10/31/2005 5:39:06 PM # Q
Also the WM platform seems to be more focused on winning over carriers than branding themselves, which makes them more attractive to carriers.

Check out this T-Mobile website. All the own-branded t-mobile devices are WM phones, many are available for free, and they are all smartphones or PPC phones. The barrier for entry for consumers are low already. They don't need Linux to make it lower.

Bingo. Windows Mobile covers everything from "free" almost-feature-phones to ultra-high-end smartphones. Plus it's been out in the hands of real users for a LONG time. Plus it's got the Windows name that businesses/IT departments look for. Plus it now will have Exchange compatibility for pseudo"push" email. Plus it's cheap. That's a lot of plusses to stack against an OS that is just being created (Access/PalmSource PalmLinux - APSPL) or hasn't even yet hired architects yet (Palm PalmLinux - PPL)

If Microsoft had been intelligent enough to fix their UI deficiencies a couple years ago, PalmSource may have surrendered by now.

TVoR

I'm still amazed that Palm never bothered to package Good Technology's "push" email system and sell businesses on Treos as a turnkey "Blackberry Killer". Yes, picking just one push system would have hurt the others (e.g. Seven), but Palm has bought/licensed apps like Documents To Go and MultiMail (VersaMail) in the past to the detriment of those apps' competition. Now that Blackberry is reaching critical mass and that WinMob includes Exchange support, Palm's Windows of opportunity appear to have been lost...



------------------------
Sony CLIE UX100: 128 MB real RAM, OLED screen. All the PDA anyone really ever wanted.
------------------------

The Palm eCONomy = Communism™

The Great Palm Swindle: http://www.palminfocenter.com/comment_view.asp?ID=7864#108038

NetFrontLinux - the next major cellphone OS?: http://www.palminfocenter.com/comment_view.asp?ID=8060#111823

RE: Interesting ine -'Some carriers did not want POS'
cervezas @ 10/31/2005 5:53:11 PM # Q
Surer wrote:
MS has never stood back from making a loss to establish a platform

And that they have certainly done! Not to sound like Dr Opinion or anything, but steadily discounting your OS while getting trounced by dominant competitors (Symbian) and eroded by upstarts (Linux) isn't exactly something to brag about.

The ACCESS guys may prove to be crazy believing they will triple their money on the PalmSource acquisition--and you should always be wary of analysts. But if they're right they aren't going to have to engage in this kind of discounting to establish their Linux platform. They don't even have a product yet and already operators like France Telecom seem to be snuggling up to them.

As for the question of letting the operators brand their own phones, why wouldn't this be a strategy ACCESS would employ as well? It's not like they have some high-profile brand of their own right now.


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

RE: Interesting line -'Some carriers did not want POS'
sr4 @ 10/31/2005 6:03:35 PM # Q
Unlike D.O.'s deluded beliefs, this is an area MS MUST win, as our mobile devices become more and more important in our lives, replacing desktop functionality. The spending is therefore strategic, and worth the investment. They can however not move too fast, else they would undermine their still very profitable desktop and Office suite offerings.

However, despite this, the MS Mobile and Embedded division still made $70 million in revenue last quarter, and only made a $2 million loss. At the moment they are close to profitability. I understand Access made $100 million in revenue from having their software installed in 150 million devices. Clearly currently Win CE commands higher fees than Access's software. No wonder they want to move up in the market, to a total solution.

Regarding own branding, I'm sure they can do this. I feel however this will preclude the bigger handset vendors (e.g. Nokia) from using their platform.

Surur

Think "BIG picture", Beersy.
The_Voice_of_Reason @ 10/31/2005 6:33:34 PM # Q
Not to sound like Dr Opinion or anything, but steadily discounting your OS while getting trounced by dominant competitors (Symbian) and eroded by upstarts (Linux) isn't exactly something to brag about.

Your inability to see the big picture shows precisely how naďve you are, Beersy. Losing the smartphone war could easily lead to a decline in Microsoft's dominance elsewhere.

On the other hand, if Microsoft becomes the defacto standard mobile OS, they can (as usual) leverage interoperability features (e.g. push email with Exchange or one button remote access to the Windows desktop) to sell businesses on more profitable software like Exchange Server, Windows XP , Office, etc.

Microsoft would probably give copies of Windows Mobile away for FREE if they didn't know the DoJ was watching them like a hawk.

Wake up Beersy. You disappoint me.

TVoR


------------------------
Sony CLIE UX100: 128 MB real RAM, OLED screen. All the PDA anyone really ever wanted.
------------------------

The Palm eCONomy = Communism™

The Great Palm Swindle: http://www.palminfocenter.com/comment_view.asp?ID=7864#108038

NetFrontLinux - the next major cellphone OS?: http://www.palminfocenter.com/comment_view.asp?ID=8060#111823

RE: Interesting ine -'Some carriers did not want POS'
cervezas @ 10/31/2005 7:21:08 PM # Q
TVoR echos Surer, writing:
Losing the smartphone war could easily lead to a decline in Microsoft's dominance elsewhere.

Who's denying that? I think even Microsoft is starting to catch on to the fact that mobile computers are going to be many peoples' primary computers in the not-too-distant future, so yeah, they better be there in a big way, even if it means giving the OS away today.

The point is that Microsoft is barely managing to compete right now (and is losing ground to Linux) even though they are in heavy discount mode. They have the advantage of enormous resources and integration with backend systems, but still they struggle. They're a force to be reckoned with, no question, but they don't seem to have the natural advantage that Linux does in the mobile space.


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

Edumacating Beersy.
The_Voice_of_Reason @ 10/31/2005 7:57:26 PM # Q
The point is that Microsoft is barely managing to compete right now (and is losing ground to Linux) even though they are in heavy discount mode. They have the advantage of enormous resources and integration with backend systems, but still they struggle. They're a force to be reckoned with, no question, but they don't seem to have the natural advantage that Linux does in the mobile space.

Have you been guzzling your namesake at work again, Beersy?

I believe Microsoft struggled because they simply lacked a clear vision of what they needed to accomplish and how best to achieve these goals. In some ways they STILL don't "get it", but the Exchange integration shows that they're starting to catch on. If they really knew what to do we would already have a Windows Mobile OS that was as stable as PalmOS 3, integrated with Exchange seamlessly, had a robust browser, had seamless RELIABLE syncing, had PIM apps that accurately mirrored their desktop companions (i.e. no loss in formatting), had one-button remote access to Windows desktop, had powerful (but simple) iTunes-like multimedia file handling for the desktop and had a User Interface as intuitive as PalmOS. So far all we've seen from Microsoft is Baby Steps, but since Palm has been so willing to destroy itself, Microsoft has basically been given increasing market share by default.

The unfortunate thing is that as soon as Microsoft kills its competition, innovation ceases. (See Internet Explorer for a shining example.) While non-PalmLinux flavors of mobile Linux may eventually show up to give Microsoft the competition it needs, PalmLinux had all the necessary tools to compete. But like the Tortoise and the Hare fable, those Hare-brained executives at Palm/PalmSource decided to go for a nap right in the middle of the race. Exactly how many chances does Palm want to give Microsoft to KILL Palm?

TVoR

------------------------
Sony CLIE UX100: 128 MB real RAM, OLED screen. All the PDA anyone really ever wanted.
------------------------

The Palm eCONomy = Communism™

The Great Palm Swindle: http://www.palminfocenter.com/comment_view.asp?ID=7864#108038

NetFrontLinux - the next major cellphone OS?: http://www.palminfocenter.com/comment_view.asp?ID=8060#111823

RE: Interesting line -'Some carriers did not want POS'
sr4 @ 10/31/2005 8:05:57 PM # Q
...but they don't seem to have the natural advantage that Linux does in the mobile space.

What advantage is that? Not being Microsoft? Yes, many fear being smothered by MS, but by going grassroots (HTC, Compal) they are getting around that, and are now signing up Levono and Quanta (biggest laptop OEM/ODM's). All of these companies want to be the next Nokia, and they see MS WM as the way there (vs Linux, where they would have do do a lot more work to convince carriers to carry their phones). MS has made HTC rich, with year on year growth of 100%, and other companies want a piece of that action.
http://www.htc.com.tw/news/press051007.html

Surur

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