MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - On Pocket PC fans' anti-Palm smear

rmeister0 · 12-09-2005, 01:31 AM

I wonder about the idea of Palm abandoning handhelds (pdas).

I don't know which numbers to believe - that pda sales are still in decline or that they are on the rise. I hear both from one month to the next.

What is telling to me is that the Best Buy stores in my area don't have pdas of any variety anymore. CompUSA still has them behind the camera counter, but all the display models are gone. Our one Microcenter has three or four very beat up display models, and that's about it.

The perception of Palm dying out comes from a clear lack of strategy. What are they doing - Windows Mobile, Palm OS 5, or a linux derivative? That's one more operating platform for mobile markets than Microsoft currently supports (Windows Mobile vs. Windows CE.NET; the latter, frankly, is so incredibly niche I'm surprised they're still pursuing it).

I think, long term, the assimilation of Handspring and Sony pulling out of the US market has contributed to a doom and gloom perception of Palm's future.

Microsoft's strategy and platform offering is clear, even if it is buggy in the current iteration. You still know what you're getting now and for the next few years. Palm is, to some degree, an unknown quantity.

I recently bought a Z22, simply because I needed a new PDA on the cheap and I can't find any Windows Mobile device for less than $300. I can use it on a Mac without third party software.

If sub-notebooks like the Toshiba Lifebook gain any steam, pdas may be even more marginalized in favor of smartphone devices, and the industry seems to be rushing to integrate their stuff into a cell phone factor faster than you can say "lemming". Everybody wants to be RIM these days (except for the lawsuits, natch).

12-09-2005, 01:31 AM	#15
rmeister0 Addict Posts: 270 Karma: 298 Join Date: Mar 2005	I wonder about the idea of Palm abandoning handhelds (pdas). I don't know which numbers to believe - that pda sales are still in decline or that they are on the rise. I hear both from one month to the next. What is telling to me is that the Best Buy stores in my area don't have pdas of any variety anymore. CompUSA still has them behind the camera counter, but all the display models are gone. Our one Microcenter has three or four very beat up display models, and that's about it. The perception of Palm dying out comes from a clear lack of strategy. What are they doing - Windows Mobile, Palm OS 5, or a linux derivative? That's one more operating platform for mobile markets than Microsoft currently supports (Windows Mobile vs. Windows CE.NET; the latter, frankly, is so incredibly niche I'm surprised they're still pursuing it). I think, long term, the assimilation of Handspring and Sony pulling out of the US market has contributed to a doom and gloom perception of Palm's future. Microsoft's strategy and platform offering is clear, even if it is buggy in the current iteration. You still know what you're getting now and for the next few years. Palm is, to some degree, an unknown quantity. I recently bought a Z22, simply because I needed a new PDA on the cheap and I can't find any Windows Mobile device for less than $300. I can use it on a Mac without third party software. If sub-notebooks like the Toshiba Lifebook gain any steam, pdas may be even more marginalized in favor of smartphone devices, and the industry seems to be rushing to integrate their stuff into a cell phone factor faster than you can say "lemming". Everybody wants to be RIM these days (except for the lawsuits, natch).