VisorCentral.com - Palm OS losing ground to Pocket PC????

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-- Palm OS losing ground to Pocket PC???? (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/showthread.php?threadid=17739)

Posted by SassKwatch on 08-21-2001 03:16 AM:

Palm OS losing ground to Pocket PC????

Caught a blurb about this on PDABuzz and couldn't help but wonder if something similar could be accomplished via a Springboard module.....

http://www.lifeview.com.tw/web_english/news0816.html

This, along with a Stowaway, would seem to provide a nice flexible, truly 'mobile' solution. When on the move, just carry the pda. When going to meetings carry the PDA and Stowaway. When back in the office/home, connect to the VGA monitor (or maybe a hacked laptop active matrix display?) AND keyboard for a real computing solution.

For the most part, I'd hate to get hooked on another MS controlled product, but if this sort of flexibility isn't in the cards (at some point) for the Palm OS, there just might be an iPAQ in my future.

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Posted by dick-richardson on 08-21-2001 05:34 AM:

Of course it is, at some point. Esp. considering the acquisition of Be Inc. (the OS whose multimedia capabilites make MS look like a 2 y/o drawing with chalk on the driveway while singing the alphabet song out of tune).

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Posted by SassKwatch on 08-21-2001 03:06 PM:

quote:
Originally posted by dick-richardson
Of course it is, at some point. Esp. considering the acquisition of Be Inc. (the OS whose multimedia capabilites make MS look like a 2 y/o drawing with chalk on the driveway while singing the alphabet song out of tune).

I sure hope the Be purchase makes the diff. IMO, the Palm OS is in danger of becoming another Netscape at it's current rate of development.

I've wondered for a while if a developer somewhere might be working on a SB module that would offer functionality similar to that in this 'Fly Jacket' for the iPAQ.

Billy G has been pushing this 'webpad' thing for a while now and I was rather underwhelmed by the idea originally. But make it 'modular' with removable keyboard and display screen and I could get very excited about it as the nextgen computing platform.

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Posted by dick-richardson on 08-21-2001 03:43 PM:

quote:
Originally posted by SassKwatch
I've wondered for a while if a developer somewhere might be working on a SB module that would offer functionality similar to that in this 'Fly Jacket' for the iPAQ.

I doubt it, given the current limitations (WRT CPU horse-power) of the Palm OS.

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Abortion: Darwinism at its finest.

Posted by foo fighter on 08-21-2001 04:18 PM:

Is PalmOS losing ground to PocketPC? If the market data from the last business quarter, showing PocketPC with 50% of the European and 35% of US PDA markets is accurate, then there is no question PPC is gaining serious ground on the PalmOS platform. But that doesn't mean MS is going to win this fight. Even if PPC is gaining share, it still a one trick pony relying on one device (iPaq) to carry the flag. That may change quickly if the rumors of the new upcoming PocketPC devices are true. Palm has many things going for it, including a fiercely loyal user base, better designed hardware, and a huge installed base of apps. The purchase of Be could lead to a supercharged PalmOS that will make a PPC user's jaw drop. Unfortunately that may be a long way off. The one thing Palm doesn't have on its side, is time.

Whatever Palm's development agenda is, they better get their ass in gear now!

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Posted by Techie2000 on 08-21-2001 04:40 PM:

I concur. Palm needs to get going. There are several reasons that I chose Palm/Handspring over Ms/Compaq such as price, OmniRemote, etc.

Posted by SassKwatch on 08-22-2001 02:26 AM:

quote:
Originally posted by foo fighter
The one thing Palm doesn't have on its side, is time.

Whatever Palm's development agenda is, they better get their ass in gear now!

Ditto....and ditto again.

My fear is that Palm is in a situation somewhat analogous to where Netscape was in 1997(?)....clearly dominating it's market. But once M$ moved forcefully into the market, Netscape was never the same.

While this isn't 1997 and the situations aren't exactly the same, if the BeOS purchase turns out not to do for the Palm OS future what some on this forum have hypothesized it might, Palm could well end up playing Betamax to Microsoft's VHS. (jeez, I'm just full of analogies today <g> )

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Posted by thewitt on 08-22-2001 02:57 PM:

Fortunately Microsoft cannot yet bully Palm out of the running with their marketing tactics. They actually have to build a compting platform that people want to use - and sell it.

They can certainly decide to lose more money on their mobile platform than they are currently doing, and so drive down the OS price - but the hardware has to get cheaper too; and that's not likely to happen fast enough.

The big thing Palm has to fear is not being static on features; it's being displaced by something that a large customer base wants, that only works on a Microsoft OS device. Now I'm no product visionary, but I don't see anything in this space yet.

Webpads have their place, but I'm not carrying one around in my pocket. I don't want an MP3 player. I don't want a DVD player. I do want better mobile connectivity, but I'm happy with the applications I run on my Visor today.

-t

ps Be real careful when you read marketing reports. They often compare Palm the company with Microsoft, and not Palm OS devices. I've still not read anything that gives Microsoft more than 15% of the total consumer market compared to Palm OS devices. Against Palm, yes. Against Palm OS, no. If you included the embedded WinCE products, you can get the numbers up higher, but these are not consumer PDAs.

Posted by mysterie on 08-22-2001 08:35 PM:

hmmm, people can now get a iPAQ 3135 with CF sleeve (B&W) for $150 so Palm and company better get their collective butts moving on getting something good and cheap out soon. I have a Prism and if I didn't have investments in my CF memplug, eyemodule, etc I would seriously consider switching.

Posted by SassKwatch on 08-23-2001 02:37 AM:

quote:
Originally posted by thewitt
The big thing Palm has to fear is not being static on features; it's being displaced by something that a large customer base wants, that only works on a Microsoft OS device. Now I'm no product visionary, but I don't see anything in this space yet.

Up until I saw this 'Fly Jacket' for the iPAQ, I would have agreed wholeheartedly. But being able to connect to a larger screen for home/office use while retaining the mobility afforded by the base unit I think will be pretty attractive to a lot of folks.

quote:
Webpads have their place, but I'm not carrying one around in my pocket. I don't want an MP3 player. I don't want a DVD player. I do want better mobile connectivity, but I'm happy with the applications I run on my Visor today.

I'm no fan at all of 'webpads' as Billy G has been pushing them either. But give me the VDX with a removeable keyboad (ala Stowaway) and a module that would allow for display on a larger screen and again, I think you'd have something analogous to a *modular* 'webpad' that would have widespread appeal.

I'm also mostly happy with the apps I run on my VDX today as well. And you know what....I was equally happy with the apps on my Northgate 386/20 purchased in 1990. But I'm currently on my 3rd pc since those days and will undoubtedly be just as far along in the pda world at some point in time in the future as well. It's just a question of when and what platform. And that's what the device providers have to be at least looking at now.

quote:
ps Be real careful when you read marketing reports

I will admit to the thread title being somewhat misleading. When I asked if Palm was losing ground to PocketPC, I wasn't referring to current sales, but rather was Palm losing the technical edge to the PocketPC platform. Because, IMO, if they lose the technical edge, they will certainly fall behind in sales shortly thereafter.

With what I currently have invested in Handspring products/modules, the technical edge favoring PocketPC (*IF THERE IS ONE*) isn't sufficient to make me jump over to the Dark Side just yet (<g> ), but it's definitely not out of the realm of possibility either.

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Posted by dick-richardson on 08-23-2001 07:37 AM:

Honestly, the device listed in your link holds absolutely no fascination for me. I still don't understand the point of presenter-to-go (or slide shows period, for that matter).

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Posted by SassKwatch on 08-23-2001 12:53 PM:

quote:
Originally posted by dick-richardson
Honestly, the device listed in your link holds absolutely no fascination for me. I still don't understand the point of presenter-to-go (or slide shows period, for that matter).

You are attaining 'curmudgeon' status **WAY** before you're time.

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