MyPalm Web Portal Closing Doors

Posted By: Ed Monday, November 26, 2001 2:00:02 PM

The MyPalm web portal is going to shut down on January 10. All its services will stop on that date. All PIM data will be permanently deleted from the MyPalm web portal and will no longer be accessible. However, subscribers to the Palm.Net wireless service will still be able to access their web email and Palm.Net accounts. Also, the MyPalm mobile portal for use on the Palm handheld will still be accessible

The MyPalm web Portal allowed users to access and modify datebook, phone lists, and to-do lists on the Web and synchronize with their handheld or desktop PIM.

MyPalm members who do not have wireless Palm.Net subscriptions will no longer have "@palm.com" email accounts.

The company gave no reasons for the shut down. The site does have a message that says, "Stay tuned for more web tools to help you take advantage of your Palm handheld."

Palm created the portal with technology it aquired by purchasing AnyDay.com for $80 million in cash and stock in May of 2000. Recently, the company laid off more than a dozen employees related to the project.

Palm had hoped that the MyPalm portal would bring in non-device money to go along with the cash Palm gets by licensing its OS.

Thanks to Paul Cedfeldt for the tip. -Ed

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Down

Sad

I.M. Anonymous @ 11/26/2001 2:17:58 PM #
I am a frequent user of the My.Palm.com portal - and I have to admit that I'm saddened by its demise. The integration with the Palm desktop software was really top-notch, and it provided a very easy way for me to check an up to date address list from any web connected machine - anywhere, anytime.

Any recommendations of other online calendars with good palm connectivity??


RE: Sad
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/26/2001 2:51:23 PM #
Are you sure they'llclose ? Nothing on their Web Page... You can even sign up for an account (which seems strange for an about to close service).

Also, if they really paid 80$ for the company that developed this, it's a bargain !! (or a typo ?)

RE: Sad
Ed @ 11/26/2001 2:54:18 PM #
Click on the link "Important Notice for MyPalm Users" near the upper right part of the page. That will give you all the details on the shut down.

Thanks for the tip on the typo.

---
News Editor

RE: Sad
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/26/2001 3:10:32 PM #
I'd recommend ScheduleOnline (www.scheduleonline.com)

RE: Sad
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/26/2001 4:36:31 PM #
I am also saddenned by this news. I have come to rely on the portal for everything. I don't even sync with my local PIM anymore. I convinced many of my clients and friends to use the service as well. They are going to kill me when they find out about this. I had a hell of a time getting them to switch to a web based service and once they did it, they loved it. I don't know what I am going to do now.

RE: Sad
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/26/2001 7:27:46 PM #
Check out www.briefcase.com and www.fusionone.com too. Also www.franklinplanner.com.

RE: Sad
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/26/2001 9:59:54 PM #
Darn. And they were just getting around to supporting the Mac too.

Palm plans to build its own Wireless-Service Bureau
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/27/2001 7:06:45 AM #
I was thinking.....

Palm also plans to build its own wireless-service bureau that acts as a secure corporate data-redirect site. Using technology from EXTENDED SYSTEMS, Palm plans to supply wireless connectivity for the most popular e-mail solutions, including Microsoft Exchange and Lotus Notes. Palm will also resell the company's XTNDConnect Server software as a Palm-branded product by the end of the year.

http://boards.fool.com/Message.asp?mid=15702708

Palm fights to keep lead in enterprise PDAs

(excerpt) "Is it really that, or is it just a certain kind of person buying the latest cool device? We have 150,000 developers around the world working on Palm applications," he said, stressing the importance of the partnership with Extended Systems -- a company that Palm had hoped to acquire earlier in the year. Extended will develop and market products that provides companies with mobile access to existing enterprise software, such as customer resource management or enterprise resource planning tools.
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,s2090153,00.html

Great Synchronization Products (PIM, e-mail etc.): Palm resells the XTNDConnect Server under there own brand
http://www.extendedsystems.com/ESI/Solutions/Mobile+Data+Management+Solutions/default.htm

Great Bluetooth Software Products (e.g embedded, windows, handfree mobile); more then 100 Bluetooth Design Wins incl: Palm, HP, 3COM, Motorola, NEC etc.
http://www.extendedsystems.com/ESI/Solutions/Wireless+Connectivity+Solutions/default.htm

Palm on Extended Systems.

"The mutual attraction Palm and Extended Systems felt in our merger plans remains as strong as ever,"

"We're going to do everything we planned together -- but as independent partners."

"Extended Systems' product offerings represent the "glue" that binds the wealth of enterprise applications with easy-to-use handheld computers, which can now be managed by corporate information officers (CIOs)"

It's the GLUE.

We will see


Free Services

I.M. Anonymous @ 11/26/2001 2:23:34 PM #
It's worse that they started it, only to abruptly stop the service, than if they never started it at all.

Talk about lack of committment. You have to question the judgement of wasting resources on developing things like this. Some customers probably began to rely on this tool. I guess no one there in charge had the ability to make it a profit center, instead of just a drain of resources. True Visionaries leaders who understand long-term value would have never even greenlighted this. They would have provided support to some third-party company for who web-based apps are their core copentcy. Instead they wanted to own every little thing.

Sad. It's indicitive of a lot of web ventures.

RE: Free Services
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/26/2001 3:28:18 PM #
Your hindsight is so accurate! What's your secret, oh wise one?

Litigation

I.M. Anonymous @ 11/26/2001 3:27:40 PM #
Didn't palm sue to get the mypalm.com name as well?

RE: Litigation
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/26/2001 4:35:40 PM #
They never got it - if you check you'll see they are using my.palm.com

MyPalm.com RE: Litigation
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/27/2001 12:18:01 AM #
Just go to MyPalm.com and read the news articles the real owner links to explaining the whole affair.

Makes you wonder about WeSync

I.M. Anonymous @ 11/26/2001 4:53:09 PM #
This makes me wonder about another 'service' Palm aquired - WeSync.

That too is a free web service...

Myinfo

I.M. Anonymous @ 11/26/2001 5:11:04 PM #
Makes me wonder about myinfo.palm.net - another useful service that puts all of your personal finance and travel accounts on one page. I signed up for this service via a link from the MyPalm portal. That link disappeared a few months ago. Not a good sign I guess...


my palm.net was a good service - crazy to shut it down

I.M. Anonymous @ 11/26/2001 5:14:54 PM #
Hey,
that was a great service, especially for Notes users. With my portal you could sync your notes adressbook to the mypalm portal in the office and than later you are able to sync at your home with an outlook client and my palm.net to get adresses & calendar entries .
So I was able to sync the adresses with my siemens mobile phone, in fact every company is supporting outlook but only a few lotus notes.

the extended connect server & client is a great product.

Andy

Reason for leaving?

skoty @ 11/26/2001 9:06:51 PM #
I think that at about the same time Palm released the Palm VII and started offering internet access through it is about the same time Jeff Hawkins and Donna Dubinsky decided to jump ship. Too many under-educated, overbearing business types came onto the scene and started screwing with things. (Happens all the time)

I'm worried that the closing of my.palm.com may be the beginning of the end for Palm. Maybe they're just trying to cut their loses while they're still in the game. Hopefully they'll patch the holes on that sinking ship quickly before it's too late!

RE: Reason for leaving?
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/27/2001 3:57:45 PM #
I don't know if it's the core reason for their leaving, but it may be a factor; Jeff Hawkins did talk about this in an interview. He said that he was asked (by the higher-ups in 3Com) to develop a wireless Palm device, and his response was that the wireless capabilities weren't ready. They saw enough demand for one, though, that they said do it anyway, and he said he had to figure out how to do the best he could.

Good Riddence!!!

I.M. Anonymous @ 11/26/2001 9:31:07 PM #
This sucked anyway. They need to focus on OS5/ARM.

Another sign of the end

I.M. Anonymous @ 11/26/2001 10:04:10 PM #
Palm is dead!!!!!

RE: Another sign of the end
sub_tex @ 11/26/2001 11:02:24 PM #
how original your post is.

How like Yoda you talk
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/27/2001 12:03:54 AM #
;-P

The PPC user has spoken
skoty @ 11/27/2001 12:10:37 AM #
Thank you for your very descriptive, intelligent, and well formed comments about the article at hand. Once again, we are all dumber because of some PPC user's comments.

Will we ever see the i705?

I.M. Anonymous @ 11/26/2001 11:42:33 PM #
I thought it was strange that they are delaying the release of the RIM killer until after the holidays. Hope that this does not signal the end of Palm. IMHO, the VII is still the best PDA out there and I have been looking forward to the next generation. I hope we get to see it.

RE: Will we ever see the i705?
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/27/2001 12:57:14 PM #
Palm may not be as 'huge' as Sony, pushing out new version of PDA every few months.

But the delay of an Improved version of m505 and i705 starts to become unbearable to many.

mypalm pqa

drw @ 11/27/2001 2:16:26 AM #
Are they going to stop supporting the mypalm web clipping app pqa as well?

This has not been a good year for palm. 80 million for useless web site, 11 million for an extinct operating system. If the CEO was spiderman, he'd have 8 feet to shoot instead of 2.

I'm used to MSFT cutting stuff, they do it all the time, but they offer new stuff to replace the cut stuff. What has PALM offered new lately? They're hopelessly lost in some kind of perpetual reorganization cycle. GET TO WORK AND QUIT PLAYIN AROUND PALM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DON'T MAKE ME COME UP THERE AND APPLY FOR THE CEO POSITION!

David in Pflugerville, TX

RE: mypalm pqa
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/27/2001 11:02:58 AM #
PIC did not mention this but i did.
The PQA will continue! Thankgod because it is VERY useful. BTW, there is other FREE services like mypalm out there, we will all survive. VIIx and VII users will also be able to continue so thats somewhat alright. Palm made the right move since this also killed profits.
PDANature - http://pdan.has.it - Hourly refreshed news, discussions, reviews, and whatnot!


RE: mypalm pqa
marig @ 11/27/2001 2:10:26 PM #
I'm not so sure about the MyPalm web-clipping application (pqa). I've had it on my VIIx for a long time, and have used it almost every day.

A few days ago, my VIIx crashed - blank screen, no response, etc. (First time in 11 months) Pressed the reset button to find a hard reset had been performed, not a soft one. Oh well - I lost a few days of un-synchronized data, but a few minutes in the HotSync cradle should restore everything. Well, it did - except for the MyPalm PQA. No problem, I thought - I'll just reinstall it. Turns out I did not keep the download from way back when, so off to the MyPalm site to download a fresh copy.

Except it wasn't there anymore. All I found was the following explanation from the MyPalm web portal support site:

How do I download the MyPalm mobile portal? (Ref. #011016-0149)

Description:

How do I download the MyPalmTM mobile portal?

Solution:

The MyPalmTM is no longer available to download.

If you have questions or concerns about the version you currently have installed on your device, contact Customer Care at MyPalm@custhelp.com.


I then called the Palm VII support line to get more information. All the person could tell me was that they thought it would be back in about a month or so, and it wasn't available because it was being upgraded.

Never mind that it doesn't make sense, I then sent off a nastygram to their support email for a further explanation, and a copy of the .pqa file! How can they support the pqa if you already have it, but not give it out if you lost it? No response yet. I will update this post if I get any more information.

If anyone out there is willing to e-mail a copy of the PQA, please respond to my post here. Thanks.

RE: mypalm pqa
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/29/2001 12:58:01 PM #
> PIC did not mention this but i did.
> The PQA will continue!

Seems the reason PIC didn't mention it is you are wrong. The PQA is gone. Sorry, your score: 0.

bah!

I.M. Anonymous @ 11/27/2001 10:42:25 AM #
these guys are the stupidest f*cks that ever existed... total sync between a mobile device and web based services are the future, and they've just destroyed their future...

RE: bah!
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/27/2001 11:05:11 AM #
Not really, they hardly made any profits from mypalm, they already have money going down the drain! Tell me how will they create the new os 5 codenamed hercules 1.0 when they are spending money on things a majorit does NOT use?
PDANature - http://pdan.has.it - Hourly refreshed news, discussions, reviews, and whatnot!

RE: bah!
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/27/2001 12:52:21 PM #
Has Palm been drifting further from what the consumers are actually looking for?

Of course, Palm can't fulfil what everyone wants but it should at least be clear about what it's direction is, if not for long term goals but existing objectives.

Information is moving across at blazing speed, I hope that Palm can be still in the wave by next year.

RE: bah!
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/27/2001 1:18:09 PM #
Just a load of dumb people that wouldn't cope when another force raises against them in this every competitive market.

Palm loves to entice the consumers with lots of fancy news and leaks (putting up and pulling down news articles on its site) and yet always fail to deliver.

Whats going on man!

Watch out for NOKIA!

I.M. Anonymous @ 11/27/2001 4:04:57 PM #
I think Nokia is looking to license their own Phone/PDA OS. That's why they nixed the Palm OS deal. I think Palm should be just as afraid of Nokia as they are of MSFT. Nokia will have 40% of the Cell Phone market share soon. If they can squeeze in a cool OS into a cool SMALL color internet phone, watch out! They already have phones with built-in FM radio, GPS, and Cameras!

http://www.nokia.com/phones/7650/index.html

RE: Watch out for NOKIA!
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/27/2001 5:45:55 PM #
The OS They use EPOC is already licensed to Ericsson/Sony, so if you are getting a phone/PDA next time, chances are you'll get a EPOC device, but trust me EPOC is much more advanced than Palm, and much better built as a PDA OS than Win CE.

RE: Watch out for NOKIA!
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/28/2001 9:09:54 AM #
Two words: Psion gone

Can't get MyPalm PQA app

I.M. Anonymous @ 11/29/2001 12:04:33 PM #
Interesting that they'll continue supporting the MyPalm wireless app, but it's no longer available from their site. Fortunately, I downloaded it a while back.

Funny . . . now I can't lot log in to palm.net.

RE: Can't get MyPalm PQA app
I.M. Anonymous @ 11/29/2001 12:32:44 PM #
Ah, now I can log in. Temporary glitch.

But MyPalm still isn't available to download, though the desktop synch'ing software is.

From the help at my.palm.com:

"Description:

How do I download the MyPalmTM mobile portal?

Solution:

The MyPalmTM is no longer available to download."


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