Taiwan flocks to MS Smartphone

[Ed Hansberry]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/59/28691.html' target='_blank'>http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/59/28691.html</a><br /><br /></div>Their are now three licensees in Taiwan for the Microsoft Smartphone product according to the Register. "Notebook maker Compal and mobo giant Asustek. They join HTC, also of Taiwan, maker of the Orange SPV Windows-based smartphone."<br /><br />This news ties in to rumors about Sendo's abandonment of the Smartphone OS. Apparently Sendo was upset to have Asian competition and have claimed Microsoft gave these companies proprietary technical information. Maybe one of these will make its way to US shores.

[heov]

Apparently Sendo was upset to have Asian competition...

really? huh, i always thought it was just not letting them get into the os (at code level) and MS giving some of sendo's "features" to other OEMs....

I'd be interested in reading about how they were upset to have aisan competitors... seems kinda like a given too me...

any one got a link to a story i could read?

[ShivShanks]

Whats really the truth about the Sendo/MS issue? ...

Well if you read the things that Paul Thurrot of WinInfo has been saying about the Sendo/MS issue -
http://www.wininformant.com/Articles/Index.cfm?ArticleID=37507
Also read the comments -
http://www.wininformant.com/Articles/Index.cfm?Action=Comments&ArticleID=37507

Now I'd really like to know why is it that Paul is convinced that MS is guilty? I thought in this country it was "Not Guilty Until Proven" ... Or could it be that Paul is hearing only the Sendo side of the story and obviously being biased? High time someone came up with a more objective analysis of the situation.

[Jonathan1]

ShivShanks. Its innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. In the court of public opinion its hang em high even if there is no proof esp if its a company everyone loves to hate. :wink: Everyone entitled to their opinion. *shrugs*

[ShivShanks]

ShivShanks. Its innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. In the court of public opinion its hang em high even if there is no proof esp if its a company everyone loves to hate.;) Everyone entitled to their opinion. *shrugs*


Yeah I know ... But the way it is nowadays any small company which deals with MS can go out there and scream that MS is bullying it and nobody would even give a thought to if it were really true *sigh* ... I highly doubt that the other Smartphone licensees would take this lying down if it were really true that MS did bad things to Sendo after all the same could happen with them ... My speculation is that it looks like a case of sour grapes to Sendo which thought probably that it would have exclusive rights to Smartphone just coz it was in bed with MS then ...

[GregWard]

Didn't the Microsofties invest financially (quite a lot - from memory) in Sendo? I thought the deal was hard cash in return for "phone" expertise?

Not quite theft if you paid for the expertise in the first place!

[JonnoB]

Didn't the Microsofties invest financially (quite a lot - from memory) in Sendo? I thought the deal was hard cash in return for "phone" expertise?

Not quite theft if you paid for the expertise in the first place!

This is true... that is how much of business is done in the US - perhaps Sendo expected MS money as free money and there was nothing to trade for?

[Paragon]

Microsoft does what is best for Microsoft. Not many would argue with that. So, how would Microsoft be serving it's best interests in giving away proprietary info, and thereby telling ALL it's partners that any shared info is fair game. I just don't see giving away any of Sendo's info would be worth the price. This is not to say that I'm so naive to think bits of info don't slip out the backdoor on occation, but not in this manor.

Dave

[PlayAgain?]

I think that Sendo must have a genuine reason to be upset and there's more to it than meets the eye.

The reason I say this is that it's got to be more than a little sour grapes that makes a small company, that is in partnership wih a massive company abandon a project so close to completion, knowing that it is effectively throwing away months, even years of research and hard work.

It's hardly likely that Sendo are throwing their toys out of the pram they have competition from Asia. Who enters a market and expects to not face competition (except the obvious)? It's like a rugby team leaving the pitch before tha game even start because 'the other team showed up'! Think about it.

Sendo's action shows a lack of trust, else it would have been able to cut its losses by shipping their Z100 and getting at least something for its Smartphone 2002 efforts before moving on to a different OS. Now, it's getting nothing and only a fool would go against Microsoft's lawyers and inside contacts without seriously thinking about the consequences.

I questioned Sendo's decision to take on Smartphone 2002 when it was announced, but being so far into the project, I questioned their decision to leave even more.

Of course, living in the corrupt world we do, we accept betrayal in the corporate world as 'just business'. But what of the moral aspect? There's a change coming in UK law at the moment whereby a defendant's past record will be able to be presented as evidence (at the moment, it can't). Those who assume Microsoft is innocent need to look back and see what big corporations are capable of and Microsoft has not proved to be any exception (if anything, quite the opposite).

Let's remember that in killing Sendo, jobs will be lost and individual people affected.

But in the longer term, the whole thing will be forgotten.

Finally, to answer Paragon: If Sendo had anything that would give the Smartphone 2002 a little something extra, Microsoft would have been desperate to get it out to other manufacturers. Despite what the fanboys think, Microsoft is still scared of Symbian and will do anything and everything within it's wallet to give itself an advantage (which is, after all, just business).

[JonnoB]

The reason I say this is that it's got to be more than a little sour grapes that makes a small company, that is in partnership wih a massive company abandon a project so close to completion, knowing that it is effectively throwing away months, even years of research and hard work.


Unless it is of course realizing that its device is crapola. Many who have seen the Orange device and the Sendo are making that assertion.


I questioned Sendo's decision to take on Smartphone 2002 when it was announced, but being so far into the project, I questioned their decision to leave even more.

Business is business. If the device works well, and they were good business people, they may still sue, but not abandon the work. This leads me to believe that it is possible the 'work' done may have been shoddy.


Let's remember that in killing Sendo, jobs will be lost and individual people affected.

If the work was shoddy, those would be the first people out the door.

[Jonathon Watkins]

Of course the other part of this news is this:

http://www.digitimes.com/NewsShow/Article1.asp?datePublish=2002/12/27&pages=14&seq=66
Motherboard maker Asustek Computer plans to launch a smartphone in the second quarter of next year, joining High Tech Computer (HTC) and Compal Communications as the third Taiwanese company producing the mobile computing device. Its second own-brand Pocket PC will also be introduced in the same quarter.

The A710-codenamed PDA will feature GPRS and 802.11b wireless connectivity, according to the company. Its first own-brand Pocket PC, the MyPal A660, does not provide built-in wireless access.

So - a new PPC PDA from Asus with GPRS and 802.11b is coming! :D

[AZMark]

Remember about a year or so ago, when Bill Gates turned over the SmartPhone project to Ballmer?

My guess is some Microsoftie was in bed with Sendo, made them way too many promises, hoping Sendo would actually produce a phone. When it became clear that Sendo was only good at producing mock ups and no real phones, Gates kicked Ballmer into high gear, and he most likely sold the boat, the code and anything else he could to get the Asians on board.

Did MS give away a bit of Sendo code? Most likely. Code that it took Sendo years to create, that the Koreans could have created in weeks. Sendo had over a year to come out with something that worked and they couldn't do it. If Sendo couldn't realize the good thing that they had with MS and struck while the iron was hot, they must have some dim bulbs working there. They knew the Asians would jump on board sooner or later.

[Daniel]

It would seem that Sendo has some kind of case otherwise it would be a waste of more money that they probably don't have. I would guess that Sendo and Microsoft had an agreement with regards to exclusivity and support ($ + time). I suspect that Microsoft got a bit worried when Sendo hadn't finished their SmartPhone after such a long time. I'm sure MS would have been sweating that given that the Symbian based phones are already on the market. I would guess that the Sendo business model would have been dependant on some of these factors. Same with Microsoft.

Daniel

[JonnoB]

Right now, we are all speculating... I guess we will have to wait and see what happens as a result of court proceedings before making final judgement.

[Paragon]

Right now, we are all speculating... I guess we will have to wait and see what happens as a result of court proceedings before making final judgement.

I think we have all made our judgements already. It up to the lawyers to make their.........millions now. :)

Dave

[Landis]

Of course, living in the corrupt world we do, we accept betrayal in the corporate world as 'just business'. But what of the moral aspect? There's a change coming in UK law at the moment whereby a defendant's past record will be able to be presented as evidence (at the moment, it can't). Those who assume Microsoft is innocent need to look back and see what big corporations are capable of and Microsoft has not proved to be any exception (if anything, quite the opposite).


Thanks for the Socialist point of view. Fresh as the 19th century.

Most members of the Left correctly defend strict standards of proof and presumption of innocence for individuals. Why do they seem so willing to throw these away in favor of prejudice when it comes to groups of individuals called corporations?

You can call me a "fanboy". I'm a fanboy of sound justice. 8)

[Ed Hansberry]

Thanks for the Socialist point of view. Fresh as the 19th century.

Most members of the Left correctly defend strict standards of proof and presumption of innocence for individuals. Why do they seem so willing to throw these away in favor of prejudice when it comes to groups of individuals called corporations?

You can call me a "fanboy". I'm a fanboy of sound justice. 8)

pftweeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!!!!!!

Flag on the play. Logic introduced into a ranting thread. 5 yard penalty, repeat first down. :lol:

[Paragon]

Ah.....the ref needs glasses! :D

[Ed Hansberry]

Ah.....the ref needs glasses! :D
Careful, or you'll be ejected from the stadium. :lol: :bad-words:

[Paragon]

:D

[fulltilt]

Hopefully we'll see them making in roads into the other country besides the US. (Australia) :wink:

[Daniel]

Thanks for the Socialist point of view. Fresh as the 19th century.

Most members of the Left correctly defend strict standards of proof and presumption of innocence for individuals. Why do they seem so willing to throw these away in favor of prejudice when it comes to groups of individuals called corporations?

You can call me a "fanboy". I'm a fanboy of sound justice. 8)

pftweeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!!!!!!

Flag on the play. Logic introduced into a ranting thread. 5 yard penalty, repeat first down. :lol:

No need to even go for the video, I don't see the other teams coach apealing. :)

I guess the leniency was because he included a sarcastic comment and a bad joke?

Daniel

[Landis]

I was just impressed with Ed's text depiction of a whistle! He must read a lot of comic books :)

I guess the leniency was because he included a sarcastic comment and a bad joke?

Everyone's a critic. I'm not all that satisfied with that line myself. Maybe "Fresh as a Charles Dickens novel"? I'll work on it :wink: