Wireless Access for Handhelds Not Taking Off

Posted By: Ed Thursday, October 4, 2001 8:05:11 AM

Last month, Palm announced that it would be delaying the release of its new wireless handheld because it believes economic conditions aren't right for it to be a success. Critics accused the company of lying to cover up that the device wasn't finished yet.

Yesterday, Omnisky and Research in Motion made announcements that lent weight Palm's statement that the wireless market is still struggling.

OmniSky, a wireless ISP that can be accessed from several different types of handhelds, has had to cut 100 people from its workforce. This follows layoffs made earlier in the year. "We continue to operate in a very difficult economic environment," said Patrick McVeigh, OmniSky's Chairman and CEO.

Research in Motion, who makes the Blackberry wireless e-mail device, listed a "challenging business environment'' as one of the reason why it lost $17.5 million in its most recent quarter. The company expects its post a loss this quarter, too.

Recently, Jupiter Media Metrix released a study that said large U.S. corporations aren't spending very much money to provide wireless data access to their employees, and this trend might continue for several years.

"It's not a top strategic IT priority at this time," the report's lead analyst said. "The market is still pretty much at an infant stage."

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Wireless rules!

I.M. Anonymous @ 10/4/2001 8:19:20 AM #

If you buy a Palm and don''t go wireless, you just spent over $200 for the equivalent of a pad of paper

RE: Wireless rules!

I.M. Anonymous @ 10/4/2001 8:24:13 AM #

Ummm. Sure. By that logic, no one should have bought a PDA instead of using a paper planner.

Maybe you can let us in on the very important things you can currently do with wireless that justify the cost?

RE: You're a moron

I.M. Anonymous @ 10/4/2001 8:24:40 AM #

And, you obviously don''t get full use out of your handheld device. It''s an organizer, not a web browser or a cellphone, or a mini computer, or a flashlight, or an mp3 player, or a camera, blah, blah, blah...

All these things are nice add-ons, but not esential

RE: Wireless rules!

I.M. Anonymous @ 10/4/2001 8:29:28 AM #

to you maybe, with your Zen Palm simplificity wachamacallit philosophy.

RE: Wireless rules!

I.M. Anonymous @ 10/4/2001 8:44:01 AM #

I dropped the Omnisky service a few months back. The service was sketchy, at best, and it cost about $400 per year. Don''t get me wrong -- it was a neat thing to have, but not essential, not even maybe. I''ll be back when that service (or some other service) expands and the cost drops.

Also, my Palm is more than just an organizer. It does news, books, word processing, spreadsheets, databases, remote coding, recording of time entries, etc. You''re saying that a Palm without wireless is just an organizer. To me, that''s like saying a vehicle without a CB radio has very little utility. My vehicle doesn''t have a CB, and I get along just fine without it.

JBH

RE: Wireless rules!

I.M. Anonymous @ 10/4/2001 9:25:51 AM #

> The service was sketchy, at best, and it cost about $400 per year.

The magic number is $20 a month. Once someone offers unlimited or close to unlimited service for $20 a month, I''ll get it. Not before.

RE: Wireless rules!

I.M. Anonymous @ 10/4/2001 9:55:22 AM #

Wireless LANs rule. I''m all over getting 802.11 and Bluetooth for my handheld. Subscription based wireless sucks. Absurdly expensive with very few practical uses. These companies just love getting you to pay for subscription services and/or by the minute. Maybe if it was $10/$15 a month, but the bandwidth and apps would have to improve considerably.

RE: Wireless rules!

I.M. Anonymous @ 10/4/2001 10:53:30 AM #

I''ll tell you why the wireless palm is not panning out like they expected it to.....Consider this...Most people who have a palm and/or a wireless palm already have a cell phone that is costing them $29.95 per mo. and up. And then you expect them to purchase a $299.99 device from OmniSky and have another $39.99 bill for a wireless device.......

COME ON!!!!!!!!!!!!......That''s a joke. People who want wireless Palm''s are not stupid and can clearly see that this cost structure is clearly out of line.

Cost

I.M. Anonymous @ 10/4/2001 8:21:53 AM #

I would really like to have a wireless device, but I''m not willing to pay the cost yet - there just isn''t enough value to justify it.

When one can get wireless in the m505 form factor with a color screen, and have the cost integrated with a cell phone bill, then I''m sure I''ll have wireless. ;)

RE: Cost

I.M. Anonymous @ 10/4/2001 8:26:58 AM #

You can have that...

Just buy a cable at cablesupply.net, sure it''s not as cool (i hate not being cool) as a really wireless PDA, but it''s cheap, it''s easily upgradable (both the phone and the PDA) and it''s on your regular wireless supplier bill.

Solo

Why always the US?

I.M. Anonymous @ 10/4/2001 8:35:04 AM #

Why is it that all these wireless products are for the US market? Wireless coverage in the US is fragmented and based upon many conflicting proprietory standards.

And few people in the US use (cell) phones, compared to the EU or Japanese market where (cell) phone ownership is above 66% in most cases (even kids all have phones from before high-school) and network coverage it at 95%+ - not just getting to 50%.

Palm are probably correct that market conditions aren''t right in the US right now. Both attitudes towards wireless devices and standards need to be sorted out.

So in the meantime, why not create a GPRS data / GSM voice device? GSM is standard all over the world (except the USA (where you can get it in a couple of places with reduced services) and parts of South America), and GPRS is already available in the EU. Where GPRS isn''t available, the device can still be used for data, it would just require a dial-up rather than having an always-on connection.

It seems to me that Palm (and many other companies to be fair) are shooting themselves in the foot by making devices for the US market and then going ''nobody wants wireless'' when sales flop. Why not try some other markets where use of wireless voice and txt messaging are already proven and see if sales work any better there?

Cheers
Russell

russ@russb.fsnet.co.uk

RE: Why always the US?

I.M. Anonymous @ 10/4/2001 9:09:57 AM #

"So in the meantime, why not create a GPRS data / GSM voice device? "

...you mean like the TREO? :)

RE: Why always the US?

I.M. Anonymous @ 10/4/2001 9:12:31 AM #

Now HandSpring do appear to be heading along the correct sort of lines with their GSM line of devices - although the Treo (from what I''ve read) will be GSM only - so you''ll still have to dial up to an ISP rather than have an always-on connection.

Let''s just hope they manage to release the devices outside of the US within a resonable timeframe - the huge delay in getting the VisorPhone out in the EU market probably hurt buth Visor and VisorPhone sales.

Oh.. and Treo isn''t color...

Personally - I''ve got my fingers crossed for an Ericssony PalmOS/GPRS device...

Cheers
Russell

russ@russb.fsnet.co.uk

RE: Why always the US?

I.M. Anonymous @ 10/4/2001 10:37:20 AM #

Hmm.. you''re right.

They should look into GPRS ... its actually a nice thing :)

I wish the Treo''s are GRPS-enabled.. or at least have a firmware or hardware upgrade for the current VisorPhones to GPRS...

Imagine.. with GSM/GPRS (900/1800/1900) you can be online anywhere in the world ... unlike the current wireless modems being offered which is limited in terms of coverage...

I wish they would look into foreign markets :)

Anton B.
De La Salle University - Manila

RE: Why always the US?

james_sorenson @ 10/4/2001 1:28:06 PM #

Personally, I like how the VisorPhone is just GSM. I use the always-on SMS messaging to send/receive small emails, and dial-up for web-browsing/large email. I get to use the same internet provider that I use for my home (Earthlink provides DSL and nationwide dial-up for one price). So, I only have my cell-phone bill ($29) and my monthly DSL service ($45). I don''t have to pay extra. I keep a doc in my Visor with all the Earthlink local numbers as I move around.

What can I say? I''d rather keep it cheap, and just be a little innovative on making it work for me.

-------
James Sorenson

RE: Why always the US?

I.M. Anonymous @ 10/4/2001 1:33:09 PM #

They should really target the GSM market... I live in the world''s sms capital... at 4 years old the children are taught how to use a GSM cellphone :) heehee..

What I do now is I use my Siemens SL45 as a wireless modem via Ir to my Prism. I get connect speeds of 9600bps.. (which is, btw, painfully slow).

My internet is free since we own the provider. But my cellular data calls arent cheap. Its 0.26 cents a minute local, and 0.40 worldwide. Downloading email would make me use around 2-3 minutes. It actually hurts my pocket since Im just a college student.

I really would want a GSM/GPRS-enabled Palm OS soon... and I want it colored :) I wouldnt even care about the price or the brand..

Anton B
De La Salle University - Manila

RE: Why always the US?

I.M. Anonymous @ 10/4/2001 10:03:01 PM #

No market? probably in the US. Here in the Philippines, where 2.5 million plus text messages are sent daily, I would say the market (Asia) is ripe for the picking. People here are very much willing to pay anywhere from US$100-$400 for a GSM cellphone with SMS, WAP,and other add-on capabilities. People here are already waiting for the next generation phones to replace their existing units. If palm or handspring can come out with a more compelling design integrating wireless technology, I am sure that those devices will sell pretty well here. They should even probably do their research and testing here in Asia to see if it would work.

The time is right....

PalmPowered @ 10/4/2001 10:03:14 AM #

Sounds like it is the perfect time for that m900 we talked about last month.....

Power Up!

CDPD wireless rocks if you have coverage...

I.M. Anonymous @ 10/4/2001 3:35:08 PM #

I've got a Minstrel 500 slapped on the back of my M505, and I love it. ATT's 19.2Kbps CDPD service runs a flat $29/mo and I can live with that. Luckily, CDPD coverage is good in Fla. so I rarely hit dead space.

I use wireless primarily for remote monitoring and administration while on the road... PalmVNC to access my desktop, reboot hung servers, restart balky services, push antivirus updates to my users, etc. TopGunSSH comes in handy for UNIX boxes, although latency can sometimes be pretty bad. Secondary uses include Palm Eudora for e-mail, AvantGo for web stuff, Yanoff for Usenet, and several PQA applets.

IMHO, the main reason for Palm's slow wireless start is that neither the hardware nor the service is mature. Palm can't push CDPD (Omnisky/ATT) because the coverage sucks from a national perspective. And power-users don't want Palm.Net (Palm VII) because it's not extensible with standard TCP/IP apps.

I am still sketchy about whether Palm's future wireless offerings will be true TCP/IP solutions, or a proxy'd web clipping deal like the Palm VII (which would pretty much suck).

I'm waiting

I.M. Anonymous @ 10/4/2001 8:33:19 PM #

I am going to wait until a universal standard appears. Heck, people still can't even agree on a cell-phone standard. It's a wonder computers and the internet even work today. Imagine trying to have a seperate version of IE for each kind of webpage.
IDEA! Maybe we need one that supports EVERY wireless standard... too expensive. Of course, I wouldn't mind a 760c with SmartMedia/CF/MemStick(...)/SD/MMc support! As PDA's get more advanced, they need to do more physically. Imagine a computer with room for only one CD OR 1 floppy at a time. Heck, For a flat fee, I wouldn't mind a single Springboard on my Visor Platinum to read them all, not 5 seperate ones.

RE: I'm waiting

mtg101 @ 10/5/2001 4:24:27 AM #

Ermm... we have a standard - and have had for years - it's called GSM and is the standard in nearly all countries and becoming availible in the few rougue states that haven't supported it.

With GPRS gradually being added to GSM, there's a rapidly emerging always-on standard.

The problem is that America is one of the countries where GSM is the main standard - in fact there isn't one, there're lots of old analogues betworks out there, couple of digital ones, couple of data-only ones - frankly it's a mess. This leads to fragmented and incompatible coverage. While you may always get covergae in your home town - heck knows if you can get it in another town.

And this is what the American companies seem to be seeing. It's a pity they can't look to the rest of the world where someone using a cheap pay-as-you-go phone that cost about $50 can travel to pretty much anywhere in the world (apart from the USA) and expect coverage on their phone.

Cheers
Russell

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