Comments on: Pocket PC Gaining on Palm
The market research form Gartner is predicting that sales of Palm handhelds will wilt as consumers seek devices with more features. "We are predicting the death of single-function devices," Gartner analyst Ken Dulaney said.
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RE: no change in 4 years?!?
RE: no change in 4 years?!?
"Breakthrough PDA or Pet Rock of 1996?
The Pilot pocket organizer from U.S. Robotics presents a fresh and compelling design to the stalled PDA market. Its low price should ensure initial unit volume - but will it last? "
So being that they had such a handle on that prediction!!!
RE: no change in 4 years?!?
RE: no change in 4 years?!?
Palm has already anounced it will develop for stongarms, it has a Vc type palm device in the works slated for 01(usualy march when they anounce there new stuff) and more wireless access capabilities and new SD storage and Memory Stick storage development. As for corporate clients are concerned I need my employee's to have wireless access, a solid device that does't crash, long battery life, and I don't want them wasting time nore my money on GAMES!(iknow cuz thats all my ipaq is good for these days)
when you compare cost palm wins here.
then the average person who needs to get organized. do you need to sched when you want toplan nintendo gaems? then why do you need a $500 PDA for?
you need charts, Yes you need colour. you need graphics yes colour works here. you need to sched an apt @ 3, and a reminder for 4 to pick up the dog from the vet. why would you need colour for? to look kewl?
honestly most PDA users are like childern. this is the same as a PC VS MAC debate. BOring get a life.
it's only a PDA. if you feel so good about what you bought. well good for you. that and $1 will get you a coffee. stop posting how your choice was the absolute best and anyone who thinks diff is an idiot.
Palm needs more Multimedia!
quality graphics and sound but it's not bad (for exception of the Handspring Prism and the "pixelized" PalmIIIc on the graphics side). Windows devices have always had the spolight for Handheld Multimedia and just now they're getting paid for it.
What's he been smoking?
- GPS navigation
- Web access/wireless email
- Medical/technical reference
- MP3 players
PocketPC devices may have more "multimedia" features out of the box, but they cost an arm and a leg and when you really think about it, don't offer a whole lot more. For a device to fit my definition of a 'mutimedia' device, it would have to be able to play DVDs, Palm OS devices won't and neither will PocketPCs, but at least the Palms don't claim to be something they aren't. From what I've seen, the Pocket PCs aren't even an economical choice for MP3s: there are dedicated MP3 players and Springboard modules that are much more compact and offer more bang for the buck.
One thing the article didn't metion is that even Handspring, trailing Palm in the PDA market by a large margin, has more market-share than all the Pocket PC manufacturers combined. What does that say to you?
RE: What's he been smoking?
That's about $340.00 extra you're gonna spend on top of your $250.00..Total $590.00 (and this isn't still counting that you still have a monochrome screen).
Yeah Maybe the PPC devices aren't great for using as an MP3 player, but you have to admit, you gett all of these things already built into them. Also would you really want carry all these Springboards around in your pocket along with the Visor??? You may never need all these functions...but I could gurantee you if they were already built into the Visor or any other Palm pda device, people would use them.
I personally own a Visor... I bought it because of all the Apps availible to it for the Palm OS which CURRENTLY outweighes WinCE. But it doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize what you're getting between the two. Loyalty has little to do with my bank account and my hard earned money for what I am paying for.
is PalmOS the next OS/2 ??
DRBliss
RE: is PalmOS the next OS/2 ??
RE: is PalmOS the next OS/2 ??
RE: is PalmOS the next OS/2 ??
OS/2 (particular version 3.0) at the time offers true multi-tasking and an object-oriented GUI environment at the time when Windows was nothing more than a DOS shell. It can run Windows 3.1 programs, do Multimedia very well (at least in comparison to Windows) and bunch of other stuff. In short, it was superior to Windows 3.1 in every way AND And it had a year and half headstart ahead of Windows 95.
Now while there are differences between the two situations, the analogy is the same. Quite frankly, the only thing that is keeping the PocketPC in the game is that Microsoft is doing a better job of marketing it than IBM was with OS/2. Once the Palm comes out with an updated OS with support for the StrongARM processors (which should resolve the memory issues and other weaknesses with the Palm OS) in a year and a half; and when you factor in the competion from Epoc and the Cell Phone makers, then it is becomes much harder for Microsoft to dominicate the market, let along grab a large share of it.
- Rilindo
It will Happen.... Mark my words
Palm is where it is
I would never buy a pocket PC device!
I have a Visor Prism and I can:
Play MP3's - using hardware acceleration instead of the main processor - which means I can truly multi task - or even
turn the unit off.
- Take digital pictures with eyemodule, and view them on my device.
I could get a pluthera of other items if I so desired
How many movies are you really going to put on that pocket PC device anyway?
Lets see... maybe you have like 100MB of memory because you went out and spent hundreds of dollars on memory..
so you could watch the same 5 or 10 minute video over and over again on your bus ride to work
Of course, when you really need to get a address or the like you have to quit the movie player and start the other application,
all of which takes time because windows is A HOG.
Friends don't let friends use pocketPC
RE: Palm is where it is
Just a thought.
RE: Palm is where it is
I wanted something that DOES have multimedia - and I find that the springboard modules give me more than the windows devices,
plus I have the palm OS as an added bonus, in case I actually want to use my handheld as a planner.
Enterprise
What1
Clarification about 18%....
The article meant 18% of *current* sales (which is believable), not 18% of current installed base (not believable). There's a gigantic installed base of PalmOS handhelds, and will take many years before there's significant installed base of PocketPC's.
Note: I own a Palm V an a Compaq iPaq PocketPC. I'm really taking a liking to the iPaq, though! Great multimedia machine. And since I am hearing impaired, I need a high resolution electronic scribble notepad for exchanging notes in the dark - the PocketPC wins here with its higher resolution display. And also, just got an Nintendo emulator for it that runs at 30-40 frames per second - take that, Liberty users! And it's the first PocketPC that's actually really good and really fast/instantaneous, unlike the older dreaded Windows CE 2.11 units... I keep my Palm V as a trusty 'ol backup. They've fixed 80% of my complaints about Windows CE. Hopefully PocketPC 3.1 will be even better...
I hope Palm goes multimedia, as I'll just go for the best overall platform that suits my needs. I'd very much like to see a 206 Mhz StrongARM PalmOS PDA with a 16-bit sunight-viewable 240x320 color screen and 14 hour battery life.
I've had ENOUGH!
RE: I've had ENOUGH!
And what would you do with the posts of people who did have their names assigned to it that you didn't agree with?? Shoot them?? Spam them?? Stalk them?? Kick them off the discussion group?? Hmm.. Sounds like all the reason more to keep people Anonymous.
Long live the Palm...
can we talk about the topic?
[ No Subject ]
Let's Rethink This
side of room says "Great Taste!" and the other side goes "Less Filling!" but we have to look at the facts first before we can say who will dominate what in the next four to five years. Right now Palm and the the Palm OS are the undisputed champions of the PDA's because they have built a device the caters to the needs of the people today, the present. They were brilliant in creating a simplistic approach to designing the Palm OS and I don't believe anyone can argue that point. Microsoft came out with their Windows CE that took a dive and barely made a dent in the PDA market. Again this is a fact that that can not be disputed. So where are we now? Well the Palm OS is realtively same and for good measure for the basic reason that it works. It works so well that to change it would be just plain dumb. Microsoft is saying that the Palm OS is going to fizzel out because they haven't changed and that will be their greatest weakness but what did people say when Windows 98 came out? More of the same with minor enhancements. What about Widows Me? A better OS, no doubt, but remember it is the same basic formula that was in Windows 95. Sounds kinda like the Palm OS is doing for PDA's for what Windows is doing for the PC. Taking it back to the PDA's you see the PPC movers and shakers have to create a clout saying the Palm OS is going to be outdated because that is going to be their only attack. My reply is don't believe it. Really??? come on now! A group of people with the brillance of dominating 60-70% of the market are going to just like back and take a nap? The reason why the Palm OS doesn't have all the bells and whistles of the PPC is because they ain't user freindly, yet. PPC is pushing the envelope to give you the latest and greatest to generate the "gee whiz" factor but is it really simple to use? Is it as simple as turning your device on and looking up a phone number? If not you probably won't find it on the Palm OS until it is. Remeber we still live in a world where VCR's blink "12:00" everyday of every second. People want simple devices that they can use to make their lives more enjoyable. Buying a VCR to watch a movie is simple..basic, purchased for the intent to watch and record shows. Not for the nice clock display. Think about it. Both system OS' are adaptable. Find the system that is simple and easy to use right out of the box, now and in the future for the single reason of making the user's life easier and more enjoyable, and you will find your winner.
RE: Let's Rethink This
just one thing
I've just one thing to say: when you are not considering the price, pocketPC devices are just better than palm ones (but i really like my IIIc). In fact pocketPC devices are so hardware powerfull that the maniability issue is not a real problem. You can event think of a palmos emulator that would run perfectly on pocketPCs
I'm fully agree with Palm's chief's words.
AP for PPC still hard to find.
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no change in 4 years?!?
He's making the assumption that Palm devices and the PalmOS won't make significant changes, if any, for the next four years. That's asinine, at the very least. In the last year alone, the OS and hardware options have changed dramatically. I'm not even touching on the 3rd party accessories.
What's even more ludicrous is that corporations will be afraid of "older OSes". What's up with that? Half the big companies I know are still using Windows 95 for chrissakes! If I were a corporate fatcat, I'd be MUCH more comfortable pouring lots of money into a KNOWN STABLE operating system, that I know will do what I want and keep doing it without significant downtime. The last thing I'd do is buy 1000 devices running PPC'04 for fear of the things not properly interfacing with the software my company already uses, not to mention the devices themselves crashing and dying.
As Beth Goza, member of the MS Mobile Devices Division (the PPC people!!!) said at a recent PSHUG meeting, "I've learned to appreciate the soft reset!"
I'm sorry, but a device where soft resetting is a "tool" for getting it to work properly is NOT a device I want to carry with me as my lifeline. :P
-Greg