NTT DoCoMo Increases It's Stake In PalmOS Owner Access To 11.66%

[Ed Hansberry]

<a href="http://mobileopportunity.blogspot.com/2005/12/ntt-docomo-buys-1166-of-palm-os-watch.html">http://mobileopportunity.blogspot.com/2005/12/ntt-docomo-buys-1166-of-palm-os-watch.html</a><br /><br />Many of you remember Michael Mace, the CCO, or Chief Competitive Officer of Palm, Inc. and then PalmSource, Inc. when that was spun off. He is no longer with either but he is keeping tabs on the mobile device space. He has set up a blog and has some comments on NTT DoCoMo's recent purchase of 11.66% of PalmOS, which was <a href="http://www.nttdocomo.com/presscenter/pressreleases/press/pressrelease.html?param%5Bno%5D=597">announced back in November</a>. He titles the post "NTT DoCoMo buys 11.66% of Palm OS. Watch this space" but that isn't accurate. NTT DoCoMo already owned 7.12% of Access, the company that purchased PalmSource earlier this year. They have increased that to 11.66%.<br /><br /><i>"It's possible that the DoCoMo investment has nothing to do with Palm OS or Linux. Access provides the browser for a lot of DoCoMo phones, and it frequently subsidizes suppliers in various ways for custom development. But DoCoMo paid about $120 million, which is a lot for just customizing a browser… DoCoMo is a strong supporter of mobile Linux for 3G phones, and you have to assume that Access is in there pitching its upcoming OS. I can just picture the conversation: "You already get the browser from us, why don't we just bundle it with the OS for one nice low fee?" Meanwhile, Panasonic just dropped Symbian and plans to refocus all its phone development on 3G phones and mobile Linux. You have to figure Access is talking to them as well."</i><br /><br />Of course, I thought $324 million was a lot for PalmSource, so $120 million for a 5% increase in their stake of a browser doesn't strike me as terribly odd, i.e. they are both overpriced. I really think this has more to do with a proprietary phone that is common in Japan than an operating system like PalmOS that is a platform for a PDA style device that is connected, like a Treo.

[Mike Mace]

Hey, Ed.

Thanks for the comments.

He titles the post "NTT DoCoMo buys 11.66% of Palm OS. Watch this space" but that isn't accurate. NTT DoCoMo already owned 7.12%....they have increased that

I mentioned in the text of my blog entry that it was an increase in the stake, but I think you have a good point. A more accurate title would have been, “DoDoMo now owns 11.66% of Palm OS…” I’ll try to clarify the text. Thanks.

I don’t think folks should be quick to dismiss mobile Linux. Not necessarily the Palm OS version of it (I’m now a neutral party on that debate), but mobile Linux in general. People in each region of the world tend to parse the mobile market in terms of what’s happening in their region. In Europe, people tend to believe it’s Symbian crushing everything. In the US, Symbian’s not generally respected and there’s plenty of Windows Mobile and Palm advocacy. But in Asia, there’s a huge amount of interest in mobile Linux, and a lot of big companies are willing to invest heavily in it.

I’m not at all sure if they’ll succeed, but the market’s a lot more complex than it seems if you view it through the prism of one particular region. And that was my main point.

Mike

[Ed Hansberry]

Welcome aboard Mike!
I don’t think folks should be quick to dismiss mobile Linux. Not necessarily the Palm OS version of it (I’m now a neutral party on that debate), but mobile Linux in general. People in each region of the world tend to parse the mobile market in terms of what’s happening in their region. In Europe, people tend to believe it’s Symbian crushing everything. In the US, Symbian’s not generally respected and there’s plenty of Windows Mobile and Palm advocacy. But in Asia, there’s a huge amount of interest in mobile Linux, and a lot of big companies are willing to invest heavily in it.
Yeah, it is very limited. I see tons of Linux applications in Asia, but they always seem to fall flat outside of that area, and the devices I see are VERY different from one another, as if it were content that were king but cross compatiblity for applications takes a back seat. My exposure is limited, so that may be inaccurate.

I just don't see that kind of model being successful in Europe/Americas, but then it is obvious that right now, our model isn't too successful in Asia. It will be interesting to watch it play out, and given the enormous potential for handset purchases in China over the next decade, maybe the investment by NTT will prove insignificant compared to the rewards.

[wirelessbeachbum]

Welcome aboard Mike!
I don’t think folks should be quick to dismiss mobile Linux. Not necessarily the Palm OS version of it (I’m now a neutral party on that debate), but mobile Linux in general. People in each region of the world tend to parse the mobile market in terms of what’s happening in their region. In Europe, people tend to believe it’s Symbian crushing everything. In the US, Symbian’s not generally respected and there’s plenty of Windows Mobile and Palm advocacy. But in Asia, there’s a huge amount of interest in mobile Linux, and a lot of big companies are willing to invest heavily in it.
Yeah, it is very limited. I see tons of Linux applications in Asia, but they always seem to fall flat outside of that area, and the devices I see are VERY different from one another, as if it were content that were king but cross compatiblity for applications takes a back seat. My exposure is limited, so that may be inaccurate.

I just don't see that kind of model being successful in Europe/Americas, but then it is obvious that right now, our model isn't too successful in Asia. It will be interesting to watch it play out, and given the enormous potential for handset purchases in China over the next decade, maybe the investment by NTT will prove insignificant compared to the rewards.

I always see allot of linux pda stuff at the CTIA show every year...as well as symbian....but you never really see it elsewhere in the US...