VisorCentral.com - No more Handspring?

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-- No more Handspring? (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/showthread.php?threadid=22953)

Posted by Hocker on 04-24-2002 04:45 PM:

No more Handspring?

Has anybody else read or heard about this? This news is from ZDNet News on April 22, 2002:

Handspring fell from No. 2 to No. 3 worldwide with a sharp decline in units, resulting in its market share dropping more than five percentage points, to 9.9 percent.

"Handspring is slowly exiting the market, so that is not a surprise," said analyst Todd Kort with market researcher Gartner.

Here is the link for the entire article: http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1103-888749.html

Posted by Toby on 04-24-2002 06:29 PM:

Re: No more Handspring?

quote:
Originally posted by Hocker
Has anybody else read or heard about this? This news is from ZDNet News on April 22, 2002:

Handspring fell from No. 2 to No. 3 worldwide with a sharp decline in units, resulting in its market share dropping more than five percentage points, to 9.9 percent.

"Handspring is slowly exiting the market, so that is not a surprise," said analyst Todd Kort with market researcher Gartner.

Here is the link for the entire article: http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1103-888749.html

That's due to a comment made at a Handspring conference call where Donna Dubinsky said that Handspring was an 'organizer' company transitioning to a 'communicator' company, and at some point, they would no longer be in the 'organizer' business. No one really knows what she wanted to say, or what she really meant, but it seems that at some point in the nebulous future, Handspring will no longer make traditional 'organizers' (unless they change their minds). This may mean they'll integrate other 'communicator' type features into PDAs or it may mean they'll make only Treo type things. Nobody knows for sure from what I've seen.

Posted by septimus on 04-24-2002 06:39 PM:

I seem to recall that somebody said Gartner wasn't exactly a reliable source...

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Posted by Toby on 04-24-2002 06:48 PM:

quote:
Originally posted by septimus
I seem to recall that somebody said Gartner wasn't exactly a reliable source...

What's questionable about the statement? It's fairly obvious what the analyst is referring to (Dubinsky's comments). Perhaps his analysis of the _meaning_ of her comments is off, but there's little doubt to the source, AFAIC.

Posted by septimus on 04-25-2002 06:15 AM:

quote:
Originally posted by Toby
What's questionable about the statement? It's fairly obvious what the analyst is referring to (Dubinsky's comments). Perhaps his analysis of the _meaning_ of her comments is off, but there's little doubt to the source, AFAIC.

I was referring to "Handspring fell from No. 2 to No. 3 worldwide with a sharp decline in units, resulting in its market share dropping more than five percentage points, to 9.9 percent." IDC seems to place Handspring 2nd. IIRC, Gartners has been called PPC-slanted...

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Posted by thorin on 04-25-2002 12:28 PM:

CONSPIRACY!

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Posted by Toby on 04-25-2002 12:40 PM:

quote:
Originally posted by septimus
I was referring to "Handspring fell from No. 2 to No. 3 worldwide with a sharp decline in units, resulting in its market share dropping more than five percentage points, to 9.9 percent." IDC seems to place Handspring 2nd. IIRC, Gartners has been called PPC-slanted...

Possible, but Handspring does seem like it's in scramble mode WRT their 'organizer' comments. Notice how the last earnings call made sure to mention a new non-Treo PDA coming in May. Historically, Handspring has played much closer to the vest with PDAs, so one can only guess that they're still playing damage control from Dubinsky's gaffe.

Posted by Toby on 04-25-2002 01:31 PM:

quote:
Originally posted by septimus
[...] IDC seems to place Handspring 2nd. [...]

It should also be noted that the numbers used in the story are _from_ IDC, and not Gartner. Also, this is worldwide. Handspring is still 2nd in the US. Here's another take from ZDNet.

Posted by septimus on 04-25-2002 01:51 PM:

Ah, I see.

It's all academic, at any rate. If Handspring isn't 3rd now, I seriously doubt they'd be able to not be 3rd in the next quarter. Wouldn't it be nice if every new model HS put out didn't get called the "make or break" model? Mark my words, as their Mysterion (tm) device approaches, people will be laying down ultimatums that it will decide HS's fate.

...and I don't know that I blame them.

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Posted by Toby on 04-25-2002 02:01 PM:

quote:
Originally posted by septimus
[...] If Handspring isn't 3rd now, I seriously doubt they'd be able to not be 3rd in the next quarter.

Well, when their current focus probably isn't grouped in the 'PDA' space for those numbers, I can't see how it's a surprise that their 'PDA' market share would drop.

quote:
Wouldn't it be nice if every new model HS put out didn't get called the "make or break" model? Mark my words, as their Mysterion (tm) device approaches, people will be laying down ultimatums that it will decide HS's fate.

...and I don't know that I blame them.

*shrug* I don't know if it's relevant either. I saw the Gartner guy's comments as saying "Handspring's transitioning out of the 'organizer' market, so it's no surprise that their share of that market would drop as they transition into the 'communicator' market." Maybe if they tracked the 'communicator' market, Handspring might do better.

Posted by foo fighter on 04-25-2002 05:00 PM:

Coursey's comments are very much on the mark. In fact, they pretty much mirror everything I've said here about Handspring's current situation, and long-term prospects. The Visor is a dead product line. It was innovative during its initial release, but is now long past its prime. And the move into the wireless/communicator market will pit the company against larger more innovative handset vendors such as Nokia. This is a battle Handspring is set to lose.

And despite the hype surrounding Handspring's founders, Jeff Hawkins has proven that he is not the God of PDA's that he was made out to be.

Bottom line: Handspring is an aquisition target at best. But as a standalone company...they are finished.

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Posted by dennisl on 04-25-2002 06:32 PM:

quote:
[And despite the hype surrounding Handspring's founders, Jeff Hawkins has proven that he is not the God of PDA's that he was made out to be.
Bottom line: Handspring is an aquisition target at best. But as a standalone company...they are finished. [/B]

I agree. HS seemed to have painted themselves into a corner with this Treo or Die focus. In my mind it was a great mistake to get this to market without some sort of expandability. (Springboard, SM, CF, etc.) I really like the idea of a Treo, but I'm not going to give up what Handspring convinced me (& the entire industry) is needed in a handheld device. I'm going to wait it out because somebody's going to come out with an expandable communicator. Maybe Handspring will get there first, but I wouldn't bet money on it.

Posted by wshwe on 04-25-2002 09:43 PM:

Why Handspring is losing its grip

http://www.zdnet.com/anchordesk/sto...2862596,00.html

Hopefully the Treo GPRS update will appear before HandSpring goes under.

The SpringBoard slot was a big loser. Most SpringBoard modules were too bulky and terribly overpriced. Most people never use the slot(s) on their handhelds. The Visor Deluxe initially sold well because it was much cheaper than the comparable Palm.

Posted by dick-richardson on 04-26-2002 02:00 AM:

Re: Why Handspring is losing its grip

quote:
Originally posted by wshwe
The SpringBoard slot was a big loser...

It's been much more widely accepted than SD, MMC, MS, CF, etc. etc. - at least with regard to diversity of development if not quantity.

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Posted by dampeoples on 04-26-2002 02:11 AM:

Re: Re: Why Handspring is losing its grip

quote:
Originally posted by dick-richardson

It's been much more widely accepted than SD, MMC, MS, CF, etc. etc. - at least with regard to diversity of development if not quantity.

Excellent point. I always wondered what people were comparing the SB to.

Posted by wshwe on 04-26-2002 04:13 AM:

Re: Re: Why Handspring is losing its grip

quote:
Originally posted by dick-richardson

It's been much more widely accepted than SD, MMC, MS, CF, etc. etc. - at least with regard to diversity of development if not quantity.

SpringBoard slot was more widely accepted, but didn't make $$$ for HandSpring. End of story.

Posted by Madkins007 on 04-26-2002 03:23 PM:

Re: Why Handspring is losing its grip

quote:
Originally posted by wshwe
The SpringBoard slot was a big loser. Most SpringBoard modules were too bulky and terribly overpriced. Most people never use the slot(s) on their handhelds. The Visor Deluxe initially sold well because it was much cheaper than the comparable Palm.

OK, I agree that there are some 'poor choice' Springboards, but the flash adaptors (MemPlug and FlashPlus) were, in my opinion, exactly the sort of module that proves that the Springboard idea was a good one. What other PDA allows YOU to choose the card style to suite your other devices and needs?

So what if most users never used it? Most people cannot program their VCR, but no one is arguing that the programming features should be dropped. Granted, if more users USED the slot, more people would make more and cheaper modules- and Handspring overall might not be hurting right now. (Personally, I think that the Visor should be bundled with a flash adaptor module. I think that would spur people to understand the uses of the slot better.)

By the way- the Visor also sold initially because it was a more stylish package (at least the Deluxe was), and had features not found on the Palm, like DateBook+ and the advanced calculator (these were some of MY reasons for the Handspring over the Palm!)

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Posted by dick-richardson on 04-26-2002 04:15 PM:

Re: Re: Re: Why Handspring is losing its grip

quote:
Originally posted by wshwe
SpringBoard slot was more widely accepted, but didn't make $$$ for HandSpring. End of story.

End of story because you have absolutely no proof? If they sell 1 unit simply because of the springboard slot, it makes them money. Given that, explain any new sales of the prism - a device that only has the springboard slot going for it. Or the neo. Care to try again?

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Posted by wshwe on 04-26-2002 09:01 PM:

Sales don't necessarily equal profits. Public companies are in business to earn profits, not rack up loses. HandSpring has never made a quarterly profit!!! HandSpring could sell a billion handhelds, but it wouldn't matter if a profit wasn't realized.

Posted by dick-richardson on 04-27-2002 01:04 AM:

quote:
Originally posted by wshwe
Sales don't necessarily equal profits. Public companies are in business to earn profits, not rack up loses. HandSpring has never made a quarterly profit!!! HandSpring could sell a billion handhelds, but it wouldn't matter if a profit wasn't realized.

Ah, I see where you're coming from. The springboard slot isn't the reason handspring hasn't posted a profit - management is. Funny thing is that most companies choose to sacrifice profit at the cost of expansion and HS is no different. The thing that worries me is HS's apparent inability to post a profit when they decide they're going to try. BTW, you said 'making money' rather than 'posting profit.' It may be a bantered semantic, but taken literally (such as I was doing) you were incorrect.

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