07-05-2003, 03:00 PM
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Executive Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 29,160
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Reading Palm's Future: Pundits Look Into the Palm-Handspring merger
"With its recently announced acquisition of Handspring, Palm says it plans to focus on its software platform licensing business and beef up its line of handheld products and services. But some industry experts question what impact the buyout will have, pointing out that it's the operating system and price--not just the hardware and brand name--that make a handheld successful in the long run."
This article analyses the possible impact that the Palm/Handspring merger will have. I think this line says it all:
"The new company will subsequently be divided into two units: handheld computing solutions and smartphone solutions."
Palm will continue to go head to head with Pocket PCs, and Handspring assets will compete against the Microsoft Smartphone and Symbian platforms.
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07-05-2003, 03:26 PM
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Philosopher
Join Date: Aug 2002
Posts: 495
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Palm has survived the heart of the storm and will dominate the handheld world for at least the next 3 years. They deserve tremendous applause for continuing to keep the Goliath down. Like it or not, the Tungsten C/T and Zire 71 are innovative enough to keep their followers following. Their upcoming OS6 combined with the acquisition of Handspring will only strengthen their position. Sadly, Microsoft's enthusiasm for advancing the OS so hardware manufacturers can innovate seems to be nil. Mobile2003 allows users to run apps based on 3 year technology faster. Brilliant! The most tangible thing Microsoft could do to sway buyers is also the most visible -- increase the screen resolution. This is becoming the Achilles heel of hardware manufacturers....
The next thing Microsoft has to address is the frustration new users get to experience when they show up at work with their new device and try to synchronize it on a second machine.... "Welcome to Pocket PC" should play from the device as they watch the duplications and vanishing random appointments as ActiveSync performs it magic.
Lets also count the improvements Microsoft has made to its base applications over the last 3 years...
1. Word has spell check
Any others?
Its pathetic.
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07-05-2003, 04:08 PM
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Pupil
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 10
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Where I think Palm will fall down from a Palm and Pocket PC user
As a Palm and a Pocket PC user, yes there is such a thing :lol: I think both operating systems have their own merits. However I will say this, Palm will need to continue to innovate if it wants to hold it's lead. The IPAQ 2210 is a fine machine. I think it's a real competitor to at least the Tungsten T and with a WiFi card it beats the Tungsten C. With the Tungsten C Palm have failed to introduced bluetooth drivers for their already established SD bluetooth card so it cannot be used with the Tungsten C. So you have a powerful Palm handheld with built in WiFi however one is unable to use it fully because it simply does not have bluetooth access and despite the many requests from Palm users, Palm has failed to produce drivers. Palm will lose many of its loyal followers to the 2210 because of the size, clarity, simplicity and beauty of such a handheld. Also the ability to use bluetooth and WiFi in one machine which obviously other IPAQ's have been able to do for a while. So as a frustrated Palm user why can Palm not produce the same? It is mistakes like this that will drive the masses to the Pocket PC / Windows Mobile. Apologies if I was a little off topic but I do feel it was an important point.
Sammy (webmaster and Editor of Palmaddict)
http://palmaddicts.blogspot.com/
Palmaddict is a website for Palm enthusiasts written by Palm enthusiasts covering news, views and opinion in the Palm community and is updated multiple times a day
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07-05-2003, 04:13 PM
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Pupil
Join Date: May 2003
Posts: 34
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T|C is a very slow sell. I don't think that model is even worth spending time discussing.
Z71 is nice, however it's already outdated and underspec compared to h1945 and h2210, Let alone next buying season when everybody will have some sort of sub $199 models.
The biggest indicator of them all? Why are Palm users reading PPC news sites?  (It's because nothing is happening in Palm)
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CBS market already overwrite Palm inc as a lost. THis is very funny considering Palm still have 55% of market share.
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/yhoo...o&dist=myyahoo
Of course product innovation will and should continue. But even in high-technology markets, there is a glut of R&D labs to invent the next iteration of gadgets; thus, the hot product is quickly copied by agile competitors or surpassed by the next wave of innovation within just a few years. You can trace this pattern in the history of Palm (PALM: news, chart, profile), Netscape, and dozens of other high-tech firms.
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07-05-2003, 04:21 PM
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Pupil
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 10
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I read Pocket PC thoughts because I use both a Palm and a 2210 IPAQ
rosettaZ, I am a Palm and Pocket PC user. Amazingly there are many people who do use both a Palm and a Pocket PC because of work issues etc and personally, I like to keep up to date with whats going on in both the Pocket PC world and the Palm community and it just so happens that I enjoy reading PPC Thoughts. As I say I think both platforms have their merits and as time continues it will be exciting to see what happens in both the Windows Media world and the Palm world. However I do respect what you are saying.
Sammy (webmaster and Editor of Palmaddict)
http://palmaddicts.blogspot.com/
Palmaddict is a website for Palm enthusiasts written by Palm enthusiasts covering news, views and opinion in the Palm community and is updated multiple times a day
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07-05-2003, 05:32 PM
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Mystic
Join Date: Dec 2003
Posts: 1,639
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As a PPC user, I've been really interested in seeing the new hardware that the Palm OS people have been coming out with. It's wrong to say nothing ever happens in Palm. Look at the new designs from Palm (really) Sony and Garmin. Clever stuff some of them.
The device that interests me the most is the new Treo 600. I would seriously consider getting one of these when it is released. Someone had mentioned on one of the PPCT threads that there is a PIM rather like PI available for the Palm so that would make a change easier.
Most of the Smartphone type products until now have been too skimpy on features (SPV) or too big (Kyocera, Hitachi), the Treo 600 seems about right.
Of course the 600 is not due until October so there's plenty of time for something new to arrive in the meantime. There is also a problem in that I think it has a camera. Many of my customers do not allow cameras into their facilities and I don't want to have to leave all my data behind in the gatehouse.
I don't think I would buy a Palm PDA but could still be tempted to a new PPC PDA, especially if the much prodicted new Dell wireless model ever arrives.
In the short term, thank goodness for the trusty Axim.
__________________
Cheers!
David
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07-05-2003, 05:34 PM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Jul 2002
Posts: 64
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Quote:
Z71 is nice, however it's already outdated and underspec compared to h1945 and h2210, Let alone next buying season when everybody will have some sort of sub $199 models.
The biggest indicator of them all? Why are Palm users reading PPC news sites? (It's because nothing is happening in Palm)
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First: The zire is not outdated by the h1945 abd h2210. It still surpasses them in some key features, it has higher resolution (320x320) it has a very innovative built in cammera desing. (and by the way the zire is a low end device like the 1945 and should not be compared to midrange device like the h2210).
Second: Many users are using both platforms thats why. In the palm world there are things happenning mainly in software. Also many PPC users like myself are frustrated that Palm is getting more innovative while microsoft is getting more "simple". For example if an average user asks me about office compatiblility what I will tell him. PPC is better because it is made by MS but it deletes formatting from your documents. But Palm is worse just because it is not MS but has the advantage of keeping documents intact??? Also some important software is not being updated like Acrobat reader for PPC it is still in an old version, the pal os version just got updated to version 3.
Microsoft should innovate.
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07-05-2003, 05:50 PM
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Intellectual
Join Date: May 2003
Posts: 127
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Quote:
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Palm may still have the upper hand in the OS arena -- Warren said Palm was the number one handheld OS in 2002, grabbing 80 percent of the market share.
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HUH? PalmOS still has 80% of teh pda market? :?:
Quote:
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With the Tungsten C Palm have failed to introduced bluetooth drivers for their already established SD bluetooth card so it cannot be used with the Tungsten C.
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Yeah, this was a pretty stupid move by PalmSG. This oversight coupled with the crappy mono output are two very extraordinary blunders IMO. :roll: How can you spend $500 bucks on a pda w/o stereo output? Sheesh! Anyway, the only recourse T|C users have will be the forthcoming Hagiwara BT SD cards for OS 5.x, which ave been delayed endlessly. If I'm gonna wait, then I'ld personally just get the Mio 558 instead!
Anyway having said this, the T|C is still a formidable competitor in the wireless pda segment. The high rez screen, speed and keypad definitely appeal to a large segment out there. However, in the end I think the article is right when they say the real competition is between OS platforms and not OEM's. I think iPaq's have as much brand recognition now as Palm etc. (Unfortunately the same cannot be said of other PPC OEMS) As of right now PPC2003 is still leaps and bounds superior PalmOS; however, if OS 6 is able to live up to all the hype, then the differences will not be as aparent...
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07-05-2003, 09:28 PM
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Neophyte
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 4
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I'm the author of a vertical market application that gives the handheld a pretty good work-out. It involves heavy database access (via SQL Server CE on the PPC), graphics, and encrypted network communications. It involves integration of multimedia with textual data, so a built-in camera is an advantage.
I first started developing this application on the Palm about 2 1/2 years ago. I then switched to the Pocket PC when I found the Palm just wasn't up to it, in either hardware or software. The Pocket PC version was finished about 1 1/2 years ago and has been well-received. But just recently I went back to the Palm version and finished that.
Of the two, I personally prefer the Palm version, running on the Zire 71. As I mentioned, the built-in camera is a great advantage. The Zire 71 has relatively good camera (of this type), and Palm makes available an SDK for integration with 3rd party apps (which will not be the case for the Viewsonic V37; I just asked them). And I think the usability of the Palm version is better.
The Palm is still more difficult to program than the Pocket PC, and the difference would be even greater for someone with a lot of exoerience in Windows development. The Zire 71 has only about 13 MB of usable main memory (and accessing it is much more difficult, programmatically, than on the PPC). And it doesn't have sound recording, which is a real drawback for my application.
But I still prefer it, for the reasons mentioned above, because ActiveStink really does, because the PPC's memory management is a joke (unless users remember to manually close applications, the device slows to a crawl or flakes out), because the difference between 320 x 240 and 320 x 320 is really quite noticeable, and because the Zire 71 is a better value than competing PPC devices.
Palm OS has made very significant progress over the past 2 years - from being unable to support an application such as mine to arguably supporting it better than the PPC. And Palm OS 6, due out in November, looks to represent real additional progress.
As a developer, I suppose it would be best for me if one of these two wins, so I"d have only 1 platform to support. And I wouldn't really care if is MS or Palm. But my point is this. MS might kill Palm in the marketplace; they obviously have the deep pockets to do so. But Palm OS is not stagnant. It did go through a period of relative stagnation, during which it amazingly retained its marketshare. But that period is over.
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07-06-2003, 01:55 AM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 206
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Porting OS 4.2 to ARM and adding audio feature doesn't sound like "very significant progress" to me.
Its more like temporary patch to get ARM to work with POS.
Where is the killer apps for ARMPOS? The two mp3 players? heh....
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