Palm, Inc.'s Next Big Project

[Ed Hansberry]

<a href="http://mobileopportunity.blogspot.com/2006/11/jeff-hawkins-secret-project-is-coming.html">http://mobileopportunity.blogspot.com/2006/11/jeff-hawkins-secret-project-is-coming.html</a><br /><br /><i>"Ed Colligan, CEO of Palm, gave a talk this morning. Afterward I asked him if we'll see next year the secret project that Jeff Hawkins has been working on. "Yes," he said, and moved immediately to another question. Very little information has been released publicly about the Hawkins project. I know a number of very bright people at Palm moved to work on it, more than a year ago. Hawkins himself has dropped cryptic hints about something that would start a new category of devices, alongside handhelds and smartphones. I know some developers have been shown pre-release versions of the product, and the reactions were mixed. But nobody's discussing what the device actually is."</i><br /><br />Hawkins mentioned this well over a year ago, and some speculated that it was the Palm LifeDrive, which turned out to be a major disappointment as a product line. So, whatever this mysterious third product line is, the first being the original Palm line of PDAs and the second being the Treo line of converged devices. Any guesses as to what this third generation of product will be? The only thing we know is it will be a mobile device of some sort.

[Joelacrane]

The first thing that comes to my mind is a Media oriented device. Palm devices have never been very media savvy. My last Palm device was a Palm m130, running Palm OS 4.2, and it had zero media capabilites. Even my dads Tungsten C (Palm OS 5) seems very, very limited when it comes to media.

Maybe they are working on a hard drive based music/video player to compete with the iPod/Creative Zen/Microsoft Zune. Just my guess.

[jaytee]

Maybe it's a hybrid PDA. Dual boot WM6 and Palm OS. That would rock :D

[Darius Wey]

Maybe it's a hybrid PDA. Dual boot WM6 and Palm OS. That would rock :D

Not much incentive to run Palm OS alongside Windows Mobile, when you can run StyleTap (http://www.styletap.com/) in Windows Mobile. Besides, there's not a lot that Palm OS can do that Windows Mobile can't do already.

[onepieceman]

A form factor that would be useful to me (but I don't know how many other people) is a PocketPC based notepad. Something A5 sized, or about the same size as a UMPC, but without the bulk, the weight, and the short battery life. Sort of like the Sony Reader, but with the ability to interact.
I would use if for;
a) Taking notes (PocketPC screen WAY too small for this)
b) Reading and browsing (PocketPC screen also too small, and TabletPC too thick, heavy and short lived).
c) Possibly playing movies (though then I'd have to accept the battery life won't be great)

In other words, the compactness and instant on capability of PocketPC, with the comfort of a bigger screen, albeit at the price of pocketability. I can see keeping this device next to my desk, and taking it to meetings, on the train etc.

[ppcinfo]

In other words, the compactness and instant on capability of PocketPC, with the comfort of a bigger screen, albeit at the price of pocketability. I can see keeping this device next to my desk, and taking it to meetings, on the train etc.
I'm with you. I would love such a device that also had a hi-res screen. It's too bad that the new UMPC devices are so thick and heavy (and costly). It would be create if a flexible screen could be pulled out from a rolled up position to offer a larger viewing area.

ppcinfo

[jaytee]

Maybe it's a hybrid PDA. Dual boot WM6 and Palm OS. That would rock :D

Not much incentive to run Palm OS alongside Windows Mobile, when you can run StyleTap (http://www.styletap.com/) in Windows Mobile. Besides, there's not a lot that Palm OS can do that Windows Mobile can't do already.

It's not what it can't do, but what it doesn't have. StyleTap is nice, but so is Virtual PC, Boot Camp...etc but I never did like emulation. I mainly use my WM for art on the go, and for the life of me WM kinda lacks at that area. The only reason I'm still using my Palm is because of NinerPaint and Novii Animator. Ninerpaint just rocks. :mrgreen:

[T-Will]

Oh please tell me it's going to be the Palm MT device!!! I mean come on, how convenient would that be when you get to work with your bagel and realize you have no toaster (or have to take a trek to the cafeteria), but if you own the Palm MT (Mobile Toaster) you just pull it out of your pocket, insert bagel, and in less than a minute have a warm toasted bagel. Spread cream cheese and you're set! Anyone with me here??? :lol:

[Stik]

Any guesses as to what this third generation of product will be? The only thing we know is it will be a mobile device of some sort.

A bit larger than the traditional PPC handheld or Treo smartphone but smaller than a laptop or UMPC device.

Hierarchical Temporal Memory (HTM) software ( artificial intelligence ) run on a Linux OS.

The machine will run on both WiFi or telco cellular high speed networks. It will always be connected.

The platform will require tons of memory and a lot of CPU horsepower. This CAN be acheived according to Dawkins.

http://www.cioinsight.com/article2/0,1540,1955963,00.asp

Thats my guess... Sorry you asked? :mrgreen: