What is palmOne up to? The Tungsten T5, the successor of the popular Tungsten T3, is a solid performer, but it lacks features that we would've liked to see from palmOne's new top-of-the-line device (such as integrated WiFi or OS 6).
With the new polished Treo 650 palmOne might hit a home run, although its true success is still quite difficult to predict (people aren't so happy either about crippled software in OEM versions, nor about the recent price increase for the uncrippled device).
Let's be harsh: Neither the Tungsten T5 nor the Treo 650 are what I'd call revolutionary.
The idea of an hybrid with a flexible display
Imagine: A PDA and a cell phone
incorporated into one device by using a
foldable dual-sided display. In a closed state, the device would resemble a typical cell phone ('candy bar size'). In an open state, it would use the form of a typical PDA, providing an enlarged viewing area. Sounds very much like a
Nokia 9210 Communicator -- except for the foldable display.
palmOne just received patent
US 6,850,780, "Compact palmtop computer system and wireless telephone with foldable dual-sided display". Although the company filed it several years ago, it might come useful now when everyone it talking about
convergence in the mobile sector (I am not a great fan of convergence myself, but I don't speak for the majority (although sometimes I wish I did)). It's probably also not a disadvantage that flexible displays are just
around the corner.
Who knows, maybe palmOne will have the competitive edge once again.