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Palm's dirty little secret


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Toby
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Registered: Jul 2000
Location:
Posts: 3034

quote:
Originally posted by foo fighter
Well Bud...you may get your wish. I hate to tell you this, but the new Palm devices will have SD memory slots in the back. SD is basically a form of MMC memory which is about the size of a postage stamp.

This to me seems to point to a big issue with...

quote:
In addition, Palm is developing a whole line of attachment modules, ala Springboard, that fit into the SD slot to provide additional functionality. You'll see MP3 players, GPS recievers, scanners, wireless modems, and digital cameras.

Can you imagine the size of the modules hanging off of that thing? People complain about the size of some springboards, but at least they have some of their bulk internally. With an MMC sized connector, there isn't room for much internally. You'll have a huge tumor hanging out of your Palm. The smallest modules would probably stick out like a sore thumb, and the modules which require a bit more hardware (mp3 and gps come to mind) would look like some sort of electronic mutation. CF seems to me to be the minimum workable standard at this time, and even those still require some protrusion for some things. Oh well...at least with a Visor, there's a possibility of an SD module for compatibility if it should become some sort of standard.

02-12-2001 08:10 PM

foo fighter
Member

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: I'm not sure, but I see lots of lights everywhere.
Posts: 1287

quote:
Originally posted by Toby
Can you imagine the size of the modules hanging off of that thing?

You can bet these modules are going to be much larger than the mock-ups shown in the Palm demos. I find it hard to believe that Palm will be able to shrink MP3 players and GPS receivers to the size of a quarter. My guess is, the SD slot will merely serve as the connection bus, while the hardware guts will, significantly, stick out from the top and back. Many could end up being sleds that the new devices will slip into.

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02-12-2001 09:31 PM

Vegaman Dan
Member

Registered: Oct 2000
Location:
Posts: 34

According to a Palm employee I'm friends with, they are indeed working on an expansion slot, but not one that is compatible with anyone else in the industry. Well that's not new, and it requires manufacturers to build yet another version of their devices for another series of PDA's. The Palm units will not be backwards compatible- the OS and programs are, but all accessories that you've bought for your various Palm models (keyboards/cables/stylii, etc) will be obsolete. Again, that's just the name of the game.

What they are excited about is a wireless system that all their new Palms will have for Internet access. It's not CDMA, but instead something similar to what is in use with Japan currently. Great! Unfortunately there is no network currently available in the US and that is a major stumbling block. Once a network is in place, then they can use this newer technology which will have greater coverage, but fairly expensive at first.

Basically it's the same old thing. New models, same features, different name. They needed to do something to provide expansion after Handspring proved there was a demand for it. Handspring will just top it shortly thereafter. The ultimate winners are the consumers. Ironically we're also the losers as our current models become obsolete, but hey, that's part of the game for computers.

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The Mountain Dew of PDA's.

02-13-2001 11:22 PM

Lnoldan
Member

Registered: Feb 2001
Location: Indianapolis
Posts: 19

quote:
Originally posted by schaeffe
[B]For every power user drooling over the M505 or praying for the next-generation Visor, there are dozens of newbies who've just caught wind of the handheld revolution, but who aren't ready to plunk down $400-500 on a machine.
/B]

I as a soon to be power user will be throwing my money in the direction of the yopy

(http://www.gmate.co.kr/english/main-frame.htm)

For how cool Palm OS is for a PDA I'll never need more then the VDX provides for me now. For everything else I want to, and will use a PDA for the power of the Linux operating system makes much more sense.

The perfect springboard for me would be Imbedded linux on a springboard with an integrated 10/100 Ethernet card.

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02-28-2001 08:55 PM

Gameboy70
Member

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Metro Station, Hollywood and Highland
Posts: 1018

quote:
Originally posted by Vegaman Dan
According to a Palm employee I'm friends with, they are indeed working on an expansion slot, but not one that is compatible with anyone else in the industry. Well that's not new, and it requires manufacturers to build yet another version of their devices for another series of PDA's. The Palm units will not be backwards compatible- the OS and programs are, but all accessories that you've bought for your various Palm models (keyboards/cables/stylii, etc) will be obsolete. Again, that's just the name of the game.

Too bad about Palm creating yet another proprietary expansion slot. I would've hoped that at some point the company would further its strategic alliance with Handspring, where each licenses the other's intellectual property -- i.e. Handspring gets the PalmOS, Palm gets the Springboard slot. It's hard to beat the Springboard slot for expandability, since Springboard adaptors will soon accomodate CF, SD, MMC and Memory Stick cards.

quote:
What they are excited about is a wireless system that all their new Palms will have for Internet access. It's not CDMA, but instead something similar to what is in use with Japan currently. Great! Unfortunately there is no network currently available in the US and that is a major stumbling block. Once a network is in place, then they can use this newer technology which will have greater coverage, but fairly expensive at first.

The rumored "RIM-killer" is pretty exciting. I really envy the Blackberry's always-on internet connection, and the I-mode phones have been a huge succes in Japan. I just wish that Palm would center its wireless strategies around existing technologies and networks. We don't need 5G broadband vaporware, just a persistent connection like GPRS. Still, I with Palm would abandon the razor/razorblades business model of wireless service and just, at least for the interim, manufacture cable connections for cell phones so that people can access the internet economically -- without an additional service bill. Ditto for Handspring.

03-01-2001 06:08 AM

Winchell
Member

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Baltimore MD, USA
Posts: 717

quote:
Originally posted by Gameboy70
I really envy the Blackberry's always-on internet connection, and the I-mode phones have been a huge succes in Japan.

Of course, one of the major reason that I-mode phones are popular in Japan (and the reason that the internet is unpopular) is their telecommuncations situation. All phone calls in Japan are billed by the minute. It doesn't take much web surfing to generate an ugly phone bill.

One can send a 50 character I-mode message from your cell phone for 1 yen. A one minute phone call costs 20 yen!

Some analysts are of the opinion that I-mode phones will not be popular with consumers in the United States due to the relative cheapness of phone rates.

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SURREAL SAGE SEZ: Never moon a person with lycanthropy.

03-01-2001 03:52 PM

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