MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Tapping the Market: How powerful should a PDA be?

macrotor · 06-28-2005, 03:12 PM

An excellent thread about multi-tasking brought up an old debate that is due for review: how powerful & complex should a Palm be in order to be successful?

A while back, there was a pretty solid division between PocketPCs and Palms. Palms were a powerful organizer, and PocketPCs were a weak PC. Please don't take that the wrong way. There were high-power things that only PocketPCs could do, but the Palm seemed to be a much more useful useful and speedy device for staying organized. Each had a market.

But the rules have changed. Cellphones now do what the old PalmOS4 devices did, and PalmOne is now putting some serious hardware in their devices. The lines have blurred. Cellphones are primarily a PDA, PPCs are primarily a Palmtop computer, and Palms are spread across between the two.

I've heard both arguments that PalmOne should concentrate on affordability or dominant power. So far, it seems PalmOne is trying to do both.

I am rather impressed at how well the Zire 21/31 did when it arrived, but I wonder how its doing now? Honestly, I can get a cellphone that is nearly as capable for half the cost with activation. A stand-alone low-end organizer doesn't make much sense to me anymore. Frankly, I think the touch-screen is what is keeping the stand-alone PDA in business. In a few months, I predict touch-screens will become more common in cellphones as well.

As for the high-end "Palmtop Computer," the market is getting pretty rough between the PPC and Palm.

So, where is the market that Palm should go for? We've asked this before, but the market is a moving target, so I'm curious what people think now. Palm has devices in all regions available. They range from the Zire31, to Zire72, to Treo650, to Tungsten|C, Tungsten|T5, and finally the LifeDrive. Talk about having all your bases covered! I wonder where they are making the money? Do people see the prices being fair on each device?

Personally, I think the Treo650 is a winner for feature/price. It is bar-none, the most powerful and easy-to-use cellphone there is (yes, I looked at the MS Smartphones...they failed), and the price is justified. The other golden-boy is that price-reduced Tungsten|C, but the lack of bluetooth is a killer. Between the cellphones and Palmtops, it seems it's the middle-priced "powerful enough" Palms with connectivity that look the best to me.

However, once that Linux system is out, they might just overtake the PPCs as a Palmtop. The question is wether this is where the money is.

- Jim

06-28-2005, 03:12 PM	#1
macrotor Connoisseur Posts: 59 Karma: 2418 Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Fremont, CA, USA Device: Tungsten\|C with Nokia6200	Tapping the Market: How powerful should a PDA be? An excellent thread about multi-tasking brought up an old debate that is due for review: how powerful & complex should a Palm be in order to be successful? A while back, there was a pretty solid division between PocketPCs and Palms. Palms were a powerful organizer, and PocketPCs were a weak PC. Please don't take that the wrong way. There were high-power things that only PocketPCs could do, but the Palm seemed to be a much more useful useful and speedy device for staying organized. Each had a market. But the rules have changed. Cellphones now do what the old PalmOS4 devices did, and PalmOne is now putting some serious hardware in their devices. The lines have blurred. Cellphones are primarily a PDA, PPCs are primarily a Palmtop computer, and Palms are spread across between the two. I've heard both arguments that PalmOne should concentrate on affordability or dominant power. So far, it seems PalmOne is trying to do both. I am rather impressed at how well the Zire 21/31 did when it arrived, but I wonder how its doing now? Honestly, I can get a cellphone that is nearly as capable for half the cost with activation. A stand-alone low-end organizer doesn't make much sense to me anymore. Frankly, I think the touch-screen is what is keeping the stand-alone PDA in business. In a few months, I predict touch-screens will become more common in cellphones as well. As for the high-end "Palmtop Computer," the market is getting pretty rough between the PPC and Palm. So, where is the market that Palm should go for? We've asked this before, but the market is a moving target, so I'm curious what people think now. Palm has devices in all regions available. They range from the Zire31, to Zire72, to Treo650, to Tungsten\|C, Tungsten\|T5, and finally the LifeDrive. Talk about having all your bases covered! I wonder where they are making the money? Do people see the prices being fair on each device? Personally, I think the Treo650 is a winner for feature/price. It is bar-none, the most powerful and easy-to-use cellphone there is (yes, I looked at the MS Smartphones...they failed), and the price is justified. The other golden-boy is that price-reduced Tungsten\|C, but the lack of bluetooth is a killer. Between the cellphones and Palmtops, it seems it's the middle-priced "powerful enough" Palms with connectivity that look the best to me. However, once that Linux system is out, they might just overtake the PPCs as a Palmtop. The question is wether this is where the money is. - Jim