Palm Needs a Savior Editorial
Wired Magazine's Gadget Lab blog has published a new editorial by Brian X. Chen entitled "Palm Needs a Savior, and Treo Pro Won't Cut It". This piece takes a harsh look at Palm's new Treo Pro, especially when compared against a slew of increasingly competitive devices from HTC, RIM, Apple, and any number of handset manufacturers.
In short, Chen claims that the new Treo Pro is merely a stopgap device—a "floatation device" as he calls it—to bridge the gap between Palm's Windows Mobile-heavy 2008 and their "hopefully revolutionary" device(s) next year, presumably running the new "Nova" Palm OS replacement. In his editorial, Chen posts several notable quotes from a telecom industry analyst, a Palm spokesperson, and Peter Hoddie, the president of streaming media software developer Kinoma. The wide array of responses quoted in the article touch not only on the new Treo Pro but also Palm's current activities and future outlook.
Tero Kuittinen of Global Crown Capital states that he essentially feels that the Treo Pro is terribly overpriced and most consumers will not want to pay $550 to enjoy the handful of benefits brought about by using an unlocked, unsubsidized GSM device in the United States. Furthermore, Kuittinen states, whatever future device Palm releases as its debut Nova handset will be the company's genuine make-or-break savior product.
In stark contrast, Palm's product-line manager Phil McClendon is quoted as firmly believing that the Treo Pro is well-positioned to compete against the iPhone's "casual" user base and the BlackBerry platform's inconvenient "software and networking" disadvantages. Mr. McClendon also defends Palm's decision to sell the Treo Pro without carrier support in the United States, saying that the power users targeted by the device will pay extra to own a phone unencumbered by carrier lockdowns or contractual constraints.
However, most tantalizing of all of the information revealed in the Wired piece is a brief discussion of Palm's upcoming "phone", specifically stating "…it will feature an entirely new platform and new hardware". Palm's Phil McClendon refused to comment any further when pressed for information about future Palm product releases.
Departing from the world of fact to speculate for a moment, it should be noted that last week's New York Times article referred to Palm's upcoming Nova device in the singular and did not specifically call it a "phone" or "smartphone", making some wonder if Palm had some kind of UMPC/PDA/PMP/tablet device in the works, what with the report's emphasis on "easier web surfing" and "social networking". Additionally, the warm response garnered by the Treo Pro's sleek formfactor and relatively cutting-edge specs have made some users speculate that Palm might revisit the Pro design for its first Nova device.
But if these latest tidbits revealed in the Wired article are accurate and taken literally, one can easily imagine suggest that Palm and Jon Rubinstein might have something more iPhone-esque in the works than a Treo Pro with Nova onboard.
Permalink
PrintArticle Comments
(62 comments)
The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. PalmInfocenter is not responsible for them in any way.
Please Login or register here to add your comments.
RE: I hope....
Pat Horne
that's being realistic
RE: that's being realistic
And a 3.5mm audio ... that's beyond belief. The bar's pretty low round' here ya know.
Pat Horne
RE: that's being realistic
RE: that's being realistic
RE: that's being realistic
Or maybe Colligan or Brown will retract their words about Windows Mobile ODMs and how Palm uses them.
Then again, perhaps Colligan will also retract his words on "Centro consumer; Nova prosumer; Treo enterprise" given what they're overtly saying now about the Treo Pro and what its market includes.
RE: that's being realistic
Treos: enterprise, prosumer & everyone else, running WinMob exclusively
Whoops, no room for Nova in there. What a surprise!
Pilot 1000->Pilot 5000->PalmPilot Pro->IIIe->Vx->m505->T|T->T|T2->T|C->T|T3->T|T5->Zodiac 2->TX->Verizon Treo 700P->Verizon Treo 755p
RE: palm needs a hero
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8VGQTtENSs
Paying my annual PDA update tax to Palm since 1997.
Palm Doesn't Need a Savior
Seriously, even if the chosen OS (Nova) arrives when predicted, what will be left of the smartphone/PDA market for Palm to recapture? PDAs, sorry to say, have become a tiny niche between smart phones and netbooks, and will not revive any time soon. On the phone side, can we expect Nova to out-Apple the iPhone for media-oriented consumer users, or to out-Blackberry RIM (you know I had to say it that way!) on integration with enterprise email servers? Long ago, maybe they could, but I don't see anything more than a warmed-over Palm interface sitting on top of an undistinguished Linux stack. Not given their record of release dates slipping ever further into the future, and lack of details on progress so far.
We've gone through denial, anger, and depression, and there's nothing to bargain with here. Maybe it's time for acceptance.
Professional Amateur
RE: Palm Doesn't Need a Savior
Don't be so sure about the pessimism. You never know what can happen when you implement 3.5mm audio across the board, an 8K clipboard limit, and a multi-threaded OS that allows simultaneous programs to lag at once! I'm holding out.
Pat Horne
RE: Palm Doesn't Need a Savior
Paying my annual PDA update tax to Palm since 1997.
RE: Palm Doesn't Need a Savior
Pat Horne
Future events will affect us in the future
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xes0F36eTJA
Go on, you know you want to click it:
http://www.jeffkirvin.net/2008/08/19/palms-game-changing-hardware/
Unfortunately, past speculations about what the Foleo was to be cannot be found.
RE: Future events will affect us in the future
Secondly, if they DO appear, they'll be buggy as hell, ala the worst of the OS5 era (T|T, T5, Treo 650, LifeDrive, 700p).
And I'd expect Nova's debut device to look & be spec'd astonishingly similarly to the Treo Pro. In fact, it'll probably be the exact same device (at best).
Palm has ZERO interest in larger screens/resolutions. Yankowski said they were well-positioned to do 'em back in 2000. It took untl 2003 to get the T3 out and it tried to hide its glorious 320x480 LCD behind the wobbly slider and then crippled it with a hidiously weak battery. THEN after a few more blips (T5, LD, TX) Palm retreated to the relative safety of the high-margin, lower-spec smartphone market. Palm's beancounters adore 320x320 screens attached to keyboards and batteries of constantly diminishing size and usability.
I have ZERO reason to believe that Palm will break the 320x320 barrier, unless they decide to jump on 640x640 or something oddball. It may be a physically larger, high-resolution LCD but it still will be a square screen.
Pilot 1000->Pilot 5000->PalmPilot Pro->IIIe->Vx->m505->T|T->T|T2->T|C->T|T3->T|T5->Zodiac 2->TX->Verizon Treo 700P->Verizon Treo 755p
RE: Future events will affect us in the future
At this particular point in time, I would not bet on that.
Might bet on it in a month or so, but not at THIS moment in time.
> ...Secondly, if they DO appear, they'll be buggy as hell, ala the
> worst of the OS5 era (T|T, T5, Treo 650, LifeDrive, 700p)...
Now THAT I would be on now, next month, and next year!
LIVE pics of T-Mobile Google phone
God, that is many shades of FUGLY!!!
And WTF is up with this:
http://tinyurl.com/6yfptz
- yeah, go on, TRY to thumb type with that huge frikkin thing blocking your right paw!!
Yet look at this:
http://tinyurl.com/6rm66r
Hey, see that, Palm? Those are called TYPEFACES! Not this decades-old crap you've been using for letters!
So, how many of you are ready to jump now?
RE: LIVE pics of T-Mobile Google phone
Pat Horne
What are Palm fans being loyal to?
I really believe Palm OS will be finished off by the Google phone (or some other) when they come out with the ability to import the Palm calendar and contacts, and have skins and/or similar features to ease Palm users into it. Sure, POS2 or whatever they end up calling it might offer the dubious advantage of running POS games in a compatibility mode, but these are always a compromise. Any stable smartphone with basic features (calendar, contacts, tasks, etc), with a keyboard, multitasking and touch screen will work for me. If crackberry added a touch screen (and kept the keyboard) I'd switch now. I recently switched from the 700P to the Centro and while this was a good move, I'd switch to the Pro if VZW offered it. Nice phone, and the OS should not matter as long as it is multitasking and stable.
RE: What are Palm fans being loyal to?
-Pocket Quicken (it's predecessor, Qmate, was the reason I came to Palm).
-Comet Phone Log
-Remote Desktop
-Actionnames/Agendus
-Snappermail
-LauncherX
-(a couple of local public transit schedulers)
-Vindigo
-Popcalc
-Secret
..you know, I have a bunch of other software I've accumulated over the past 11+ years, but they're becoming less and less important to me as the developers either stop maintaining them or charge ridiculous prices on every "upgrade" (update).
The more I think about it - good PIM support, a financial sync add-on, a password keeper (that doesn't wipe as Blackberry's does), easily navigable menus and launcher, and a few other things. Although I've had and supported many BB and WinceMob devices over the years, there was some dealkiller inherent in the design of them both that kept me stuck with Palm.
BB has a miserable keyboard, awful launcher (but great menus), no touchscreen, not enough software. WinceMob is still klunky, feels like a mini-desktop instead of scaled properly for a handheld, is too "busy," and has always been vastly underpowered. Though the third-party software on both platforms are finally starting to look interesting.
If either of these competitors, or even Android manages to do a few smart things they can eat whatever lunch Palm has left on the table. Keep making the keyboards more Centro-like and the batteries and screens smaller, and there won't be any reason to stick with Palm at all...
Paying my annual PDA update tax to Palm since 1997.
RE: What are Palm fans being loyal to?
Paying my annual PDA update tax to Palm since 1997.
RE: What are Palm fans being loyal to?
For some now-forgotten reason, I believe the "Centro keyboard" doesn't have the patent-royalty-hit that the "smile keyboard" has.
So if Palm did some minimal market research that asked something like:
== "Do customers see any significant difference in the two after purchase?"
and got "No" as an answer, then the "Centro keyboard" makes good economic sense.
Then again, maybe the OTHER phone manufacturers asked during THEIR market research:
== "Do potential customers see any significant difference in the two before purchase?"
and got "Yes" as an answer, then the "smile keyboard" makes good economic sense.
Or maybe the "smile keyboard" has a more significant hit outside The States.
=====================
Does anyone see any =physical= reason for the Centro-style over the smile-style? I sure don't.
RE: What are Palm fans being loyal to?
Pat Horne
RE: What are Palm fans being loyal to?
I seem to distinctly remember us discussing back in June or so that RIM held the patent for ALL "miniaturized QWERTY" keyboard, regardless of "smile" shape, key material composition etc. So basically Palm and everyone else just have to suck it up and pay royalties no matter what.
I think Palm just cheapened out yet again (what a surprise) with the Centro "gel sheet" keyboard fro the Pro. They either said "Hey, straight looks cleaner and more aesthetically pleasing", Hhey, straight will make people think of out hot, hip new Centro", or, most likely, "We gotta save a few bucks somewhere with all of this other goodness we're putting in the Pro so we'll economize on the keyboard"
One of the hallmarks of the Treo line has always been its keyboard size/quality. If Palm's going to stick us with expensive devices that have both small 320x320 screens AND nigh-unusable Centro style, non-"smile" keyboards, then they can go shove it.
IMO the Treo keyboard layout peaked with the Treo 650, took a slight step back on the 700-series, took another small step back on the 680/750/755, and then has really regressed with the Centro/Treo 500/Pro. I haven't used an 800w to comment on it but it looks to be the same or only a smidgen smaller than the 680/750 style.
Pilot 1000->Pilot 5000->PalmPilot Pro->IIIe->Vx->m505->T|T->T|T2->T|C->T|T3->T|T5->Zodiac 2->TX->Verizon Treo 700P->Verizon Treo 755p
RE: What are Palm fans being loyal to?
But, again, I have no idea why I have that relatively-ancient "memeory" (this thought comes from probably years ago).
=============
BTW - "size" is one of those things that probably is NOT a factor for determining uniqueness of idea (that makes something patentable). That is, keybaords have been around since the late 1800s, probably, and varying their size isn't gonna get you a new patent. But I'm no patent lawyer.
RE: What are Palm fans being loyal to?
If so, Palm could save on manufacturing costs if they use a quantity order (maybe).
RE: What are Palm fans being loyal to?
Between dumping standard SDIO (cheapest, fastest, largest capacity) in favor of MiniSD and MicroSD (jeez Palm - pick ONE!), dropping battery capacity down and down as they finally increased functions, and other boneheaded moves - it's amazing they have anyone competent enough to design a box for them.
Paying my annual PDA update tax to Palm since 1997.
RE: What are Palm fans being loyal to?
1. i like the tiny centro keyboard. most people just need to enter SMALL amounts of data on their mobile device (short emails, texts, quick note, Google search, etc.) - not for writing friggin novels.
2. yeah, amazingly, RIM was able to win the patent on the smile keyboard.
3. microSD is awesome. i like having having killer memory on such a tiny little chip. microSD is the future, most modern devices use itm SD and miniSD is the floppy disk of today. welcome to 2009.
4. i like Centro over iPhone because -
a. functionally better PIM (on Device and Palm Desktop)
b. carrier choice - Sprint $99/month unlimited everything
c. known/comfortable PIM/OS - like an old shoe - you like what you know.
d. no money added to thumb-up-ass liberal steve job's wallet nor do i ever have to deal with those hipster apple store employee weirdos.
e. better excel/word support - docs to go.
f. PIC - what would i do without all of you schmoes?
g. microSD expansion
RE: What are Palm fans being loyal to?
Pilot 1000->Pilot 5000->PalmPilot Pro->IIIe->Vx->m505->T|T->T|T2->T|C->T|T3->T|T5->Zodiac 2->TX->Verizon Treo 700P->Verizon Treo 755p
RE: What are Palm fans being loyal to?
RE: What are Palm fans being loyal to?
Also, someone mentioned fondling one. Where could this be done anywhoo? A Palm airport store?
Pat Horne
RE: What are Palm fans being loyal to?
RE: What are Palm fans being loyal to?
You have a sad, sad life, Gekko.
RE: What are Palm fans being loyal to?
That's not to say that alternatives don't exist. It's just a pain to convert from one program to another and have to re-enter all the data.
-
PalmPilot Pro (1997) -> III (1998) -> Vx (1999) -> m500 (2001) -> m515 (2002) -> Tx (2007)
Only the first 50 comments are displayed within the article.Click here for the full story discussion page...
Latest Comments
- I got one -Tuckermaclain
- RE: Don't we have this already? -Tuckermaclain
- RE: Palm brand will return in 2018, with devices built by TCL -richf
- RE: Palm brand will return in 2018, with devices built by TCL -dmitrygr
- Palm phone on HDblog -palmato
- Palm PVG100 -hgoldner
- RE: Like Deja Vu -PacManFoo
- Like Deja Vu -T_W
I hope....
One can only hope. Nova is still an unknown, and I'm still hoping for something from Palm other than the Treo form factor. But I also suspect it's still a long way off. Maybe it's time for a new battery for my TX. Palm has yet to offer me anything to beat it.
"twrock is infamous around these parts" (from my profile over at Brighthand due to my negative 62 rep points rating)