05-14-2002, 07:59 PM
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Executive Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 29,160
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Palm OS is hot again
http://www.brighthand.com/newsite/features/marketshare.html
Now here's an article that should stir up some...interesting discussion. Last year, Palm was inches from death - and this year, by all appearances, they seem to be surviving quite nicely. The innovation of their licensee's certainly helped - if they didn't have Sony, I'm not sure where they'd be now. Despite what some of you may think, I never wished for the death of Palm - what I wanted was market parity so companies would release solutions for the Pocket PC and not just the Palm because it was the dominant PDA. In order for that to happen, Palm needed to be taken down a few notches in the market - and they were. I'd still like to see the Pocket PC with 50% market share, but I'm confident that will happen soon enough. Here's the intro from the Brighthand column:
"Despite what you may have heard, the death of Palm OS has been greatly exaggerated. According to the latest industry statistics, Palm OS continues to dominate the handheld market, and it's not just hanging on to existing marketshare, it's growing. Over the last eight weeks alone, Palm OS retail unit share of the market has increased by more than 10 percentage points, to 87.2 percent of the U.S. market, (NPDTechworld, Weekly U.S. Retail Data, February 17 to April 7, 2002). And it's not just in the U.S., Palm OS also appears to be recovering European marketshare it lost in 2001 to Pocket PC. In its April 2002 Mobile Device Market Overview, Canalys reported that Palm OS remains the leading mobile device software in Europe, with its marketshare having risen from 31 percent in the fall of 2001 to 43 percent in the first quarter of 2002."
It should be noted that Brighthand is the official discussion board for Palm.
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05-14-2002, 08:42 PM
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Thinker
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 360
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death of palm
I don't really care what happens to Palm. I guess their new CEO and New business structure is working not to mention the fact that a lot of people did not have money for pocket PCs over the past half year.
Still I think SOny is the soul reason that Palm OS is hangining on, that and compacent users who are fairly unambitious as a whole.
Anyhow I would love to see Sony make a PPC. I am not saying I would buy it because I pretty much detest the Sony Busiess Model, but I bet it would be a great device!
Just ask yourself "was it a job for your palm?".
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05-14-2002, 09:28 PM
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Thinker
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 381
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why note BH is the disc. board for Palm?
Why should one take note that Brighthand his the official discussion board for Palm? Did you say that so that we would know its a reliable source or to point out bias towards palm in the article.
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05-14-2002, 09:37 PM
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Pupil
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 21
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"Official discussion board for Palm" is a misnomer. The Brighthand community discussion board IS sponsored by Palm, Inc. and is referenced from the community section of its website, but neither Brighthand nor Palm has ever referred to it as the "official discussion board for Palm".
Also, Brighthand's Pocket PC forums are available for sponsorship by Microsoft, HP, Casio, Toshiba or any of the other Pocket PC licensees.
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05-14-2002, 10:18 PM
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Executive Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 29,160
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Re: why note BH is the disc. board for Palm?
Quote:
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Originally Posted by heov
Why should one take note that Brighthand his the official discussion board for Palm? Did you say that so that we would know its a reliable source or to point out bias towards palm in the article.
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I'll let you draw your own conclusions, but I felt it important that all the facts be on the table.
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05-14-2002, 10:23 PM
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Executive Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 29,160
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Steve
"Official discussion board for Palm" is a misnomer. The Brighthand community discussion board IS sponsored by Palm, Inc. and is referenced from the community section of its web site, but neither Brighthand nor Palm has ever referred to it as the "official discussion board for Palm".
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Semantics aside, you're the only discussion board linked here:
http://www.palm.com/community/
"User Discussion Boards - Talk frankly with fellow users @Brighthand.com"
If that's not official, I don't know what is. 8)
I'm assuming that by "sponsorship" you mean Palm pays you? I see no problem with that, and I think it's great to see an OEM supporting community sites (heck, I'd like a sponsor!), but as you've publicly pointed out my past associations with Microsoft in your own discussions, I felt it only fair to hold you to the same standard that you apply to others. Readers should have all the facts when they read an opinion piece, shouldn't they?  I intended no insult with my comment - it was a statement of fact.
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05-14-2002, 10:35 PM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 255
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Hmmm, this may clarify the Brighthand "point of view". The site attempts to host both Palm and Pocket PC related content. However, there does appear to be a bias toward the Palm. For example, see last month's story about the Pocket PC turning two years old (http://www.brighthand.com/newsite/pp.../nextstep.html) and look at the last four paragraphs that read (emphasis added by me):
Quote:
Well, there's no doubt that the success of the Compaq iPAQ Pocket PC has stirred other manufacturers, including Toshiba, NEC, Fujitsu-Siemens and Hitachi, to give it a shot. While this will serve to drive competition and innovation, it also could put us right back to where we were in 1999, when there were a lot of licensees fighting for a small piece of the handheld pie.
The other card that Microsoft and its manufacturing partners hope to play is the convergence card. Microsoft's Pocket PC Phone Edition platform enables device makers to create new Pocket PCs that double as cellphones. Whether there is a market for this remains to be seen, however, it's unlikely that consumers or businesses will want to foot two cellphone bills.
So as we mark Pocket PC's anniversary we must wonder what is in store for the next year. Will Pocket PC catch Palm, or will it become obviated by Tablet PCs and Smartphones?
Only time will tell.
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The remarks seemed biased to me. I thought that unbiased journalism would have resulted in a less negative summary.
Pocket PC Thoughts, on the other hand, makes no pretense of being unbiased. It is, after all, a Pocket PC enthusiast site and a fair amount of Palm bashing goes on here.
Perhaps Steve should change the name of his site to "BrightPalm" or "Palm Thoughts" !!!
(OK, Steve, let me have it with both barrels, I may well deserve it).
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05-14-2002, 10:37 PM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 86
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I do not see PPC gaining market share unless MS turns to the consumer market in a big way.
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05-14-2002, 10:58 PM
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Executive Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 29,160
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by HR
I do not see PPC gaining market share unless MS turns to the consumer market in a big way.
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Microsoft believes that the key to market share is the enterprise market - that the big sales numbers are with big companies. Quite frankly, I'm not sure what to believe. What do you think?
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05-14-2002, 11:04 PM
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Pupil
Join Date: Mar 2002
Posts: 41
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JDHill-- now I see how the article wasn't glowing at the end sure, but I really don't see how it is Palm-biased. If being PPC-negative equates to Palm-positive, then I guess. :? I thought the concerns were valid and are relevant to the discussion of the platform's future and growth. But to each their own, I guess. :wink:
Jason-- this same new piece was picked up by many other non-Brighthand sites as well-- PDABuzz, OSNews.com, etc... <snide comment deleted  >
But speaking of bias, most of us here are biased toward the PPC, of course-- I know, state the obvious, Hans-- but shouldn't we all strive to at least look at the other side and congratulate them when they do well? Why all the sneering and bitterness? JMountford?
Personally, Jason's attitude toward Palm and it's control of the PDA market, is exactly what I feel toward MS. I really do not like their strong-arm practices and I "detest their business model", too. Sure, I use them every day and I own a PPC, which I love. But I think they should use these latest results to wonder... "What's going on here? Maybe we should fix this."
I've noticed more articles recently (Pocketnow.com) about being unhappy with the PPC-- too many dust issues, slow downs with e-readers, crappy ClearType, dead backlights, etc...-- and it is a shame. The PPC platform is wonderful, but it seems the MS may be reaching out to the wrong audience, or, perhaps, the message is just not getting through. Sure, each and every little win helps, but when all you hear is "Is that a Palm?" and with mistaken advertising and lack of exposure in stores, the PPC is at a real disadvantage.
I guess it goes back to my original belief, posted many moons ago, that MS doesn't really seem to love the PPC-- sapling or not; they just don't seem to care how well it does. Not the PPC Team, Jason, MS management.
Jeesh, this post is much too long...
Happy days, everyone,
Hans.
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