Registered: Aug 2001
Location:
Posts: 143

Handspring sales news.

Handspring is in the news regarding a PDA sales slump. Here is the link:

http://famulus.msnbc.com/famuluscom...37.asp?sym=PALM

My favorite part is at the end. Here it is.

"Handspring, once a top PDA seller which has shifted now primarily sells mobile phones, shipped 70,000 units, for a 2.9 percent stake."

Didn't they used to be number two with 20% of the market when they were selling Visors? My signature quote says it all.

Registered: Jul 2000
Location:
Posts: 3034

Re: Handspring sales news and the Osborne-ing of Handspring

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Originally posted by HindeR
Didn't they used to be number two with 20% of the market when they were selling Visors?

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I don't remember if it was 20%, but it was definitely in the high teens around there.

quote:

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My signature quote says it all.

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Yep. Can't wait for the Vixen to hit the market.

Registered: Aug 2002
Location:
Posts: 67

...well it's been about 6months or so since my last post, I switched camps and bought a Sony Clie... -and have been on the ClieSource forums ever since.

On a whim I decided to check back here and see what was going on., I too feel like Handspring shot themselves in the foot. My Prism was top of the line a few years ago, ...as far as I am concerned the Prism when it first came out was the most advanced Palm available. What happended? I've asked my self this question so many times... why did Handspring get out of the organizer business??? did they hate being a market leader? did they hate all the profits?? was the fame and fortune just too much pressure for them???

There was a time when everyone who worked with computers and knew what a PDA was, knew what a Handspring was. Handspring had TV commercials and ads..., now they've been forgotten. a Handspring??? what's a Handsrping???

sad is all I can say....
I miss my Prism...

Registered: Aug 2001
Location:
Posts: 143

On a somewhat related note, I got an email the other day announcing that the FlashPus adapter module is being End-of-Life'ed. Kopsis Engineering gave three very valid reasons for this action. Number three was "The Visor is dead. Handspring killed it. Developing for the Visor now would be like developing for Windows 3.1."

It still seems unthinkable that Handspring would create an entire market around the springboard technology and then dump it. They let down more than just users. They walked away from companies and jobs that were created by the springboard module. Now if they were loosing money on it, I could understand.

Someone else suggested in another thread that the entire Visor line and springboard module were created for one purpose only, to allow the creation of the Visor Phone, a stepping stone to the Treo. If that is the case, I still think it was pretty crummy to dupe everyone, users and developers alike, into investing in the Visor.

Registered: Aug 2002
Location:
Posts: 67

yep I received the same email...

I remember Handspring as being the company that allowed PDA's to work with both mac and PC's... they hit the market with a huge splash... their "imac - esque" colors were very hip at the time, and their devices seemed to be very user friendly. Everyone had a visor... I remember going to the Gym, the coffee shop, the workplace... everywhere I saw a cool orange or ice blue visor! I don't understand the thinking that would kill that momentum? I am sure some VP thought they were making the best decision, and that organizers were the way of the past and cell phones were the way of the future... all in all it seems to me like it was a very bad decision on someone's part that killed the company. I give them another 2-3 years then their coffin will be nailed shut.

they were on top for a few years!

It's good or bad depending on how you look at it... but other companys such as Sony have gladly carried the torch to continue to push further in the PDA business. All in all the market is very much alive... I have renewed excitement in my Clie. Although I miss my Prism, my Clie does everything my Prism did and many things much better. True some of the springboards were great and your not going to find them in any other device...but for my purposes my Clie suits me fine.

Registered: Jul 2000
Location:
Posts: 3034

quote:

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Originally posted by HindeR
[...] Someone else suggested in another thread that the entire Visor line and springboard module were created for one purpose only, to allow the creation of the Visor Phone, a stepping stone to the Treo. If that is the case, I still think it was pretty crummy to dupe everyone, users and developers alike, into investing in the Visor.

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