http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aNDFY8m7vaSg&pos=5 Too bad. A good example of the power of marketing. I was a launch day customer for a couple of Palm Pre's last June, for my daughter and I. I've had a few problem with the hardware - but the operating system - WebOS - is literally a couple of years ahead of IPhone and Android. Palm did a horrible job marketing this. True multitasking - just like you'd find on a PC. It's hard to explain how this changes the usability of a phone. Every time I use another phone it drives me crazy. Friends with Android or IPhone's are all amazed at how much easier WebOS is to use, and how I can actually have more than one thing running at the same time. But they wouldn't buy a Pre. Using gestures to navigate is pure simplicity. I hope HTC buys them - and keeps going with WebOS. If not, if WebOS dies, I believe it will be a major loss. PALM got stomped by Apple and Google in the marketing department. If WebOS is no more this summer, it looks like I'll be in line for the new HTC EVO (Supersonic), and taking a step backwards with Android.
Wow.... truly the end of an era... that's too bad, unless a buyer is found that will rejuvenate the company. But what I fear is Apple or Verizon or whomever will just buy them up to eliminate a competitor. Jedi
I remember 10+ years back when EVERYBODY had to get a palm. Then the cellphone/blackberry singlehandedly drove them completely out of business. Sign of the times really, they used to cost $300 or $400 dollars and were just a fancy organizer. Now you can internet, phone, music, and an organizer in an iPhone or Blackberry for hundreds less.
Huh? For hundreds less than what? Current PALM hardware/WebOS offerings are much cheaper than Iphone, and similiar in pricing to Blackberry.
The new Palm stuff, as in WebOS? As far as the "apps" go - I agree. No one jumped on the bandwagon there. What I'm saying is that the operating system behind the curtain - WebOS - is years ahead of anything else currently on the market. Everything else about the phones killed the whole thing - crap marketing, bad hardware, and no apps/no released API's, etc. There are some "simple" things in WebOS that make it like no other. For example, "notifications". Every other mobile OS should emulate those exactly. I bet in the near future they will become as standard as a "double click" in windows. Not trying to sound like a PALM fanboy - because they have obviously failed. I just find it sad that a greatly superior OS might go away because of it. Maybe it's comparable to BETAMax..
I had an an early Palm too, great little tool. But when my cell phone offered most if its capabiities, the need to carry one more thing around was lost. The Palm OS is a great piece of software, no doubt. But the iPhone and Android leap frogged past it in terms of user preference because of the vast superiority of app offerings. So, the OS is really just one piece of the puzzle. It's sad to see good technology swept aside, but that's just the way the business goes. . . ask Atari.
Palm's "partners" haven't been doing them any favors, either. I got a flyer from Verizon over the weekend and they didn't even show the Palm phones. I have a Treo and like the Pre, it's too bad they might disappear.
From what I've heard, the folks at Verizon will pretty much give you a Pre or Pixi because they have so many of them to sell and nobody wants them.
No, I mean the Iphone, Android phones, etc. IMHO, they suck as business tool. The Blackberry has the best keyboard and method of handling email, and also does an outstanding job of reading documents. While Palm has made business tools, that isn't what the market wants anymore, they want to surf, look at videos, listen to music, play games, download silly apps, etc. I can remember buying dozens of palm pilots for my staff, which worked great, but those days are gone, replaced by the Droid and Google Apps.
They blew all their ad money on a stupid TV campaign that nobody could figure out. Apple's Iphone ads are really simple -- "here's something cool you can do. Isn't it amazing? Now, go buy one".
Yup, plus they killed the "Slate" project. Hopefully this means a WebOS tablet from HP... that could be pretty sweet.
