11-24-2006, 06:00 PM
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Contributing Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 8,228
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Palm's Ed Colligan Laughs Off The Apple iPhone
http://www.engadget.com/2006/11/21/palms-ed-colligan-laughs-off-iphone/
""We've learned and struggled for a few years here figuring out how to make a decent phone," Ed Colligan apparently laughed about with John Markoff last Thursday morning. "PC guys are not going to just figure this out. They're not going to just walk in."
Uhm..... Ok. There are a few flaws with Mr. Colligan's reasoning. First of all, the PC guys did figure it out. That is why Windows Mobile has been kicking PalmOS all over the playground for the past two years and why Palm, Inc. decided to run Windows Mobile on their most advanced line of Treo devices. And while the Treo design has been good to Palm, it isn't like a Porsche 911 that can largely retain the same look for 30 years. Porsche kept putting substantive changes in the engine compartment, drive train and suspension. The Treo is far from leading the pack in either design or specifications.
I am not an Apple fan at all, but when, in the last 10 years, has Apple launched a product line that just flopped? If I had to take a guess at what will happen, I'd say Steve Jobs will announce a compelling device for music fans, with an array of online features, and will have some serious backing. The only laughing Mr. Colligan should be engaging in is nervous laughter.
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11-24-2006, 07:52 PM
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Sage
Join Date: Oct 2006
Posts: 797
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Maybe if Palm made devices that sync'ed properly with Macs, people wouldn't be clammoring for something else.
Truth is, there are a lot of syncing solutions, but none perfect for the mac, so if Colligan really thinks that a rabid fanbase of Apple users (myself included) aren't going to snap up this phone the day it's available with the hopes that we'll finally have a phone we can actually sync reliably and possibly transfer music to, he's dead wrong.
Then again, Palm isn't all that important anymore anyway unless you're buying a Treo, and those are Windows Mobile now, too which is all the more proof that he's not one to go to with product success inquiries.
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11-24-2006, 08:09 PM
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Theorist
Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 300
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I also own Macs but I have to say I am very happy with my 6915 ipaq at the moment.
I am sure the iPhone will be a very good device that will integrate with MAC OS X and also with Windows. Music of course will be a big feature of it with the ability to sync with iTunes and download music/movies from the iTunes store. The only thing troubling me is that with an iPhone the iPod will eventually become (after many years) useless.
Photo syncing seems to be part of the deal.
If the design is up to the high Apple standards and if the PIM applications are good, then its going to be a big hit.
What do people really want from a phone?
* Great Design - portability
* Easy of Use
* Great Display
* Good Battery Life
* Great Apps
* Media (Music, Videos, Films)
* Email Access
* Easily sync with their home pc/Mac
I believe that Apple will succeed on delivering a great design, an easy to use phone with a great display that has an ok battery life, with a great media experience due to the integration with iTunes. My only concern are the PIM programs which I am pretty sure will follow the simplicity of the iCal and Address Book programs in MAC OS X.
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11-24-2006, 08:24 PM
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Neophyte
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 6
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Quote:
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Maybe if Palm made devices that sync'ed properly with Macs, people wouldn't be clammoring for something else.
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But, How large is Macintosh desktop market in comparison to Windows desktop market to even contemplate supporting it? 20%? 30%? IIRC, It's less than 10%.
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and why Palm, Inc. decided to run Windows Mobile on their most advanced line of Treo devices.
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One can also state the same for Apple choosing x86 with Intel as opposed to continuing the PPC segment that they've raved were so much greater than x86 in the first place.
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11-24-2006, 08:34 PM
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Theorist
Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 300
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Remedy
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Maybe if Palm made devices that sync'ed properly with Macs, people wouldn't be clammoring for something else.
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But, How large is Macintosh desktop market in comparison to Windows desktop market to even contemplate supporting it? 20%? 30%? IIRC, It's less than 10%.
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and why Palm, Inc. decided to run Windows Mobile on their most advanced line of Treo devices.
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One can also state the same for Apple choosing x86 with Intel as opposed to continuing the PPC segment that they've raved were so much greater than x86 in the first place. |
Apple changed to Intel processors for two reasons mainly:
* To make their offerings more attractive to Windows users since now u can run Windows on a Mac
* The PowerPC processor wasnt evolving at all or the evolution was happening too slow. Laptop performance was also questionable
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11-24-2006, 09:18 PM
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Philosopher
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 541
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Originally Posted by petvas
Apple changed to Intel processors for two reasons mainly:
* To make their offerings more attractive to Windows users since now u can run Windows on a Mac
* The PowerPC processor wasnt evolving at all or the evolution was happening too slow. Laptop performance was also questionable
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If you replace Mac with Palm and PowerPC with PalmOS you pretty much get the reasoning for Palm swithing to WM...
As for Apple phone, I dont doubt it's going to look great and it will probably be a really nice music player, but...
Apple is big player only when it comes to iPod (portable digital music players), they are really tiny player in PC business and they are nonexistent in Phone business.
If nothing else, they will have a long uphill battle to break into the market and they better have a really compelling product without stupid limitations...
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11-24-2006, 09:49 PM
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Sage
Join Date: Oct 2006
Posts: 797
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Remedy
But, How large is Macintosh desktop market in comparison to Windows desktop market to even contemplate supporting it? 20%? 30%? IIRC, It's less than 10%
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Yeah, we know... Marketshare is small... Windows is obviously better because 80% of the market owns it. Anything else isn't worth it. It's such a small part of the market that Circuit City and Best Buy are now selling Macs.
[/quote]One can also state the same for Apple choosing x86 with Intel as opposed to continuing the PPC segment that they've raved were so much greater than x86 in the first place.[/quote]
Could they?
Palms run a whole new OS now. Why? Because Palm effectively gave up on their OS, spun it off, and lost it.
Can you really say the same for Apple? Last I checked, there's a new Mac OS coming out in March.
Secondly, when the G5 was introduced it blew the doors off of everything on the Intel side. That was 3 years ago. Apple switched to the Intel chips because development by the chip manufacturers (Power Computing / IBM / Motorola) was going nowhere fast. It had nothing to do with their OS or ceding anything because they're still producing their OS and their hardware. Apple is not selling Windows. Palm IS selling Windows.
Totally not the same thing.
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11-24-2006, 09:53 PM
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Neophyte
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 6
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by petvas
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Originally Posted by Remedy
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Maybe if Palm made devices that sync'ed properly with Macs, people wouldn't be clammoring for something else.
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But, How large is Macintosh desktop market in comparison to Windows desktop market to even contemplate supporting it? 20%? 30%? IIRC, It's less than 10%.
Quote:
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and why Palm, Inc. decided to run Windows Mobile on their most advanced line of Treo devices.
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One can also state the same for Apple choosing x86 with Intel as opposed to continuing the PPC segment that they've raved were so much greater than x86 in the first place. |
Apple changed to Intel processors for two reasons mainly:
* To make their offerings more attractive to Windows users since now u can run Windows on a Mac
* The PowerPC processor wasnt evolving at all or the evolution was happening too slow. Laptop performance was also questionable |
So, you agree that changing wording from Mac to Treo and OS 5.4.9 to OS X that you can see reasoning behind the decisions, correct?
The iPhone will probably have a good design and cater to the market segment it intends to target. But, when you have giants like Palm, HTC, etc creating devices that pretty much cover their desires of giving market at such a price that one can't refuse. The iPhone doesn't seem to be a device that can survive against major players as opposed to the iPod challenging a market that had very little compeition to begin with.
Or, one can look at it as, Macintosh from the late 1980's circa trying to challenge the Windows platform, again. History will repeat itself with the iPhone.
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11-24-2006, 10:11 PM
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Neophyte
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 6
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Yeah, we know... Marketshare is small... Windows is obviously better because 80% of the market owns it. Anything else isn't worth it. It's such a small part of the market that Circuit City and Best Buy are now selling Macs.
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You're talking Boutique items. If you put Palm, HP, HTC, Moto etc, devices and take the iPhone, where exactly is the Apple device going to go? This isn't the same segment as the iPod.
Selling a device that plays music and dominating the trend is one thing. Selling a device that serves Telephony purposes when other devices do the exact samething with maturity to boot is a very hard market to break into and probably not worth the while of said company.
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Can you really say the same for Apple? Last I checked, there's a new Mac OS coming out in March.
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If they thought it would be lucrative, of course they would.
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Apple is not selling Windows.
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It's the most lucrative feature of selling desktop PC's. They will eventually after Vista ships.
Sorry for turning this into Apple verse Windows debate.
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11-24-2006, 10:11 PM
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Theorist
Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 300
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I dont think that HTC and Palm are giants!
Nokia and Sony-Ericsson are the big players here...
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