Comments on: Palm Elaborates on the HandSpring Merger & PalmSource Spinoff

I'm sorry, but what competition? Brighthand? Infosync? ClieSource? Hate to break it to you, but you're not reading much Palm OS news anywhere. It's all either PPC or mobile phone stuff.

As for checking everyday, there's nothing wrong with that as long as you're a patient person. ;) Can't strangle the guy if he doesn't make a new post every three hours (yet).

-Bosco

That said, I have tried Brighthand, but it seems to serve mostly as a conduit for PR companies. Further, I do not trust that their discussion boards are not being flooded by Microsoft stooges. PIC strikes me as a more honest site. It _would_ be interesting to compare the combined PPC advertising budgets of M$, Dell, H-P / Compaq, Toshiba, etc. compared with Palm and Sony. This comparison might account for the hype surrounding PPC devices and the lack of hype surrounding Palm OS devices. I mean, with OS6 so close we Palm should be getting people excited. Sadly, they are not. Afte Consumer Reports gave Palm devices such high marks there should have been a splash of hype. Again, there was not. My only explanation is that Palm is so distracted worrying about spinoffs and mergers that PR is suffering. Also, this only confirms the old addage "Microsoft is the world's premier PR firm that just happens to sell software."

As Ryan said, you can provide content via reviews and what-not. I'd love to donate a little spare time for some free software/hardware. =)

_____
Fammy

Of course, not as much Palm gaming coverage as PPC but there still were some overlooked gems in there. I've really gotten tired of Astraware's endlessly rehashed day-glo puzzle games and was looking for some notable Palm games from smaller companies. I just think that if PIC were to somehow team up with a site like that (rebrand their coverage of Palm OS entertainment titles, for example) they could at least churn out some new content a few times per day.

Since it seems' PIC's output has dimished considerably since registration became mandatory, why don't we try to make it a point to generate some user or guest reviews or something ourselves? Pepper?

(I'd be willing to do a quick roundup of the recent batch of entertainment titles on MMC(Rayman, PopCap, Sega, Game Essentials), since I bought all of them as soon as they were released in a combined fit of air travel boredom and Palm loyalty)

Arguably, there's the Toshiba e750 with dual slots. Like I said before, it's not innovation, it's just crammed specs. But I want those crammed specs with a touch of innovation. The keyboard wasn't a bad idea. But be the first to get a smaller 320x480 tablet PDA out! It's a disgrace that Garmin is the only one that's going to have it.

>In other words, they want a diverse product line
>rather than putting most of their eggs in one
>basket. Makes perfect business sense. My point is,
>in spite of all that, the T|C is quite an offering.

If only you saw what I think Palm's product line should be. I never said make a multimedia T|C and that's all you need. I KNOW they need things to appeal to a wide audience. But by wide audience, that also includes the HIGH END. I want multimedia, innovation, something that looks cool, and something with as many specs as humanly possible. And make sure it can last me a few hours while using constant Wifi and MP3 on full brightness. If they don't make something like this, they AREN'T appealing to the wide audience, and the premier-line is arguably the most important line because it shows investors and partners what the company is capable of. Not so much on the revenue side, but if you want me to be YOUR company's customer, give me what I want or I will move to the next company that can deliver it to me.

>wouldn't lead to frequent "upgrades" in the future
>(i.e. new consumer purchases)

Yeah, that's a great business practice. Half-ass things so they have to upgrade to your products. I'm sure that's working for Palm. NOT. They're losing marketshare for a reason. You may think they have the perfect business practice going on right now, but their current numbers tell otherwise. They need to straighten up, and the first thing to do is give the people what they want NOW.

-Bosco

Yeah, but the only problem with the Toshiba is that it doesn't work...Again, the T|C delivers a faster wi-fi experience due to the efficiences of POS over PPC. The battery lasts longer than 20 minutes as well.

>>If only you saw what I think Palm's product line should be.

Remember, you're only one person and probably not indicative of the PDA market.

>>I want...something that looks cool, and something with as many specs as humanly possible.

Who said it doesn't "look cool"? Sounds rather subjective to me. And careful what you wish for with the specs. A good example is PPC: A jack of all trades and master of none. Or better yet, Sony seems to have crammed everything possible into the NZ-90. Of course, you need a hydraulic lift to carry it around with you....

>>Yeah, that's a great business practice. Half-ass things so they have to upgrade to your products. I'm sure that's working for Palm. NOT. They're losing marketshare for a reason. You may think they have the perfect business practice going on right now, but their current numbers tell otherwise. They need to straighten up, and the first thing to do is give the people what they want NOW.

Again, relatively different market segment, but it seems to work for Nokia. I don't think Palm's non-innovative past can necessarily be indicative of it's current offerings or future (that's my whole point). By the way, most of the quarterly market reports over the last year plus have showed little erosion of Palm's market share (it's actually increased some quarters I believe). Sony recently lost share to HP. Does that mean Sony's not innovating either?

The consensus seems to be an overwhelming thumbs up for the Zire 71 and T|C (I think the T|T2 will be a hit as well if it shows up with the rumored specs and screen of the recent models). Are there areas where those products can be improved? Sure. Are they lacking "innovation" compared to the rest of the market? Hardly.

Okay - If 'people have been asking for this' for a year, and it STILL hasn't 'Been done', woulden't that make you LESS sure it CAN be done, instead of MORE?

Or do you think some guy in a lab is just sitting there, chortling, waiting for you to whine sufficiently to release it?

Untill color screen technology changes signifigantly, anything with decent viewability is going to be a power hog. Ditto on wireless, MP3codecs/high-speed CPUs, etc.

Wish in one hand, dump in the other, and see which fills up first.

I didn't see his wish about MP3 and full brightness *at the same time* as WiFi.

Which, even if it wasn't exaggerating (What does FUD stand for again, folks? How many times has M$ been naild for PAYING trolls to plant this kind of stuff?), woulden't be the three hours he was asking for, or inclued MP3 playing. Thanks for proving my point, but I don't need the help.

Er, what's that in your hands?

Your lunch money. Have a nice day. Next?

I have FUD that Sony is over-emphasising some things. The retracting CF slot is a great idea, but it's poorly implemented. The ENTIRE design is .8 inches thick now WHEN CLOSED. The NX was .6 inches thick for half the unit, then crawled up to .9 inches up near the top for the CF slot, no matter if a card was inserted or not. I think the NX80v will feel worse in the pocket.

It can be done. Sony just suddenly feels the need to put a keyboard in everything $400+ these days and static graffiti for the rest.

-Bosco