Palm- where is it going?

Sammy Mcloughlin of Palm Addicts has asked this question in the Palm Addict forum about Palm's direction. It would seem many of the Palm faithful feel let down by Palm's lack of innovation and forward thinking. Palm is unquestionably in trouble. Once the Apple iPhone gets 3rd party development, Palm will be all but finished. Their only hope is to release a device that can function well, look great, and have an appealing design.

So here are some of the comments made in the forum about Palm- Where is it going?

"I seem to have already anticipated this thread with my editorial of yesterday[http://palmaddict.typepad.com/palmaddicts/2007/07/open-letter-to-.html].

In a nutshell, Palm has no street-cred around innovation. They have products that work very well, and are very boring. They have no road map to share, and nothing sexy to talk about.

In other words, they seem to be marking time, while every one of their competitors is putting out new product, talking about future products, and is innovating. It doesn't matter if the innovation is particularly useful, so long as it shows a vibrant, forward-moving culture.

Palm looks stultifying, moribund and emasculated."

Peter Arts

"I do not know where it is going and, frankly, I am disappointed. I have a Tungsten E2 that I have owned for just over two years. My battery is going haywire... I will charge it fully and ten minutes later it shuts down due to dead battery... then re-charge it and it lasts for a good while... then back to the charge issues.

Because of this I was thinking about finally getting the TX I wanted. My wife has given me permission to get the TX or explore smart-phone options. Here I am... a few days later... and I have not bought anything. Each day my wife asks if I had bought my TX yet and my answer has been no.

Why haven't I bought one? Well, I use one for work.. but that has never stopped me. I guess it is because it was released almost two years ago (an infinity in tech life). If I get it I want to use it for at least two years. That means it would be technology that is almost a half decade old. There is no new Palm PDA in sight.

I was looking at smart-phones, but none really appeal to me. Only one of them in Verizon's stable even has wi-fi (which is a MUST for me) and that is a Windows Mobile device. I thought about one of the Treos, but the 700P has many issues and am not sure if I want to get a Windows Mobile device. On top of that you HAVE to get the voice/data plan with any Verizon smart-phone. I do not want the expensive data plan... that is why I like Wi-Fi. I would not use it enough to warrant the additional monthly expense. Also, you have to pay $399 for the smart-phone. No thank you!

I have been considering getting an Internet tablet, like the Nokia N800. No PIM function, but I can access my Google, Yahoo, or Air Set calendars... no not quite as big of a loss.

If Palm would be continuing to release PDAs this would not be a dilemma. If they would make a good, sleek, wi-fi enabled smart-phone I might spend the money.

As it is right now... I have blanket permission from the wife to buy a new PDA or smart-phone, but I am hesitating and might wait for awhile. If Palm was the innovative leader of old, or even in the game, I would already have a new device in my hand. Alas, they are not and my hand is empty."

snoopy

"Frankly, being a Palm fan who was originally so enthusiastic and optimistic about their devices, I too have become disillusioned by their lack of vision, innovation, leadership, focus and their total disregard for their loyal followers.

How long have Palm users been begging for Wi-Fi on ANY Palm device? Ed Colligan has previously mentioned that Wi-Fi was coming in the Treos and it's been how many years and nothing to show for. I for one, have lost respect for someone who may claim one thing and yet fail to deliver and sweep it under the rug. A case in point has been the 700p update. It's obvious to me that they never meant to address the problems and finally decided to work on it only recently only to not come up with something that has been fully tested and thus had to remove it from their site. And what about the non-smartphone Palm devices? Virtually nonexistant. The last standalone PDA was the Palm TX and that was in 2005. Clearly they have decided to turn their backs on all the loyal standalone Palm fans. Not everyone wants a Treo and they obviously think they know better and are forcing people to get a Treo or nothing, well, at least from Palm. How ridiculous.

Palm has become an oxymoron. In one hand, they seem to want to become more receptive to their Palm users but yet, fail to address a lot of the concerns. They claim that the Linux OS is coming (they've been saying it for years so I'll believe it when I see it) but now they say it's not coming until next year. There are many more examples. It's very hard for me to remain optimistic about Palm although I really still love my Treo 650 device and Zire 71 but in this age of technological advances, you need to keep coming up with new innovation to survive. And judging by the lack of anything new (no, the 680 and 755p do not count as anything more than slight increases in RAM much less anything else) in the past few years, I am doubtful that there is a rabbit that can be pulled out of this empty hat.

From what I see, I don't think they even know what direction to take. They've been milking the Treo line for so many years and finally figured out that Apple, Nokia and everyone else has taken a chunk of their marketshare. But yet, they still haven't come out with a true plan or anything. I guess they may be going to their grave, as much as I'd hate to say it. After my editorials and rants back at the beginning of the year, obviously they don't seem to care. Maybe I should stop caring too.

I may likely get a Win Mobile Treo or an HTC device (man, that Advantage X7501 really appeals at a decent price). I can't imagine why anyone would spend the $500 or so dollars for a Foleo when they can get an Advantage X7501 for a few hundred more. Touchscreen with keyboard and camera and Wi-Fi. If only Palm can learn something from HTC, maybe they can come back but at this point in time. But, if the Linux OS is another example of Cobalt, this may be the final nail in the coffin. Not every Palm loyalist will remain that way forever. I certainly am not."

maceyr (May C)