Handheld Market Experiences 18% Year-Over-Year Decline
The worldwide market for handheld devices swelled to its largest quarterly shipment volume all year, reaching 2.2 million units during the fourth quarter, growing 37.6% from the previous quarter. According to IDC's Worldwide Handheld QView, growth was driven largely by a combination of holiday sales and larger shipment volumes of devices that were introduced earlier in the year. But despite reaching its peak during the year, shipment volumes decreased 18.2% from the same quarter a year ago. For the full year 2005, shipments of handheld devices reached 7.5 million units, a 16.7% decrease from the 9.1 million units shipped in 2004.
"Vendors with a global footprint still lead the worldwide market, but more and more, vendors with a multi- or even a single region focus have earned top five worldwide status with their focused shipment distribution," said Ramon Llamas, research analyst at IDC's Mobile Markets group. "The departure of other worldwide vendors has opened the door for smaller vendors to improve their position within the market. During the course of the year, several smaller vendors remained within striking distance of beating each other for the number four or five position, and even posed a challenge to some of the worldwide vendors."
Although the market has been under immense pressure by the rise in shipments of converged mobile devices (devices that combine the PIM functionality of a handheld device with telephony), Llamas adds that vendors still remain committed to the handheld market. "New devices continue to come out from the market leaders, aimed at different user types and offered at different price points. With the addition of GPS solutions, multimedia capability, and WiFi connectivity, handhelds offer additional value beyond just PIM for the user."
Vendor Highlights:
- Palm - Palm maintained its position as the worldwide leader within the handheld device market, reaching its highest shipment volumes all year. Palm grew its shipments 109.7% from last quarter, but also experienced a 13.2% decline from the same quarter a year ago. With 45.6% market share, the company more than doubled the second-place vendor, HP.
- Hewlett-Packard - Growing 16.9% from last quarter, HP remained the clear number two vendor of handheld devices for the quarter, claiming 20.8% market share. Although this marked yet another positive sequential increase for HP, its shipments decreased 33.1% year over year, the largest decrease among the top five vendors. HP more than doubled the shipments of the number three worldwide vendor, Dell.
- Dell - Climbing one spot into the number three position is Dell, which improved its shipment volumes 10.2% from last quarter, but slipped 9.2% from the same quarter a year ago. As a result, Dell grabbed 8.0% worldwide market share. With several models reaching end of life at the beginning of the quarter, the company experienced strong fourth quarter demand with the X51 series. Although this marked Dell's return to the number three position after a two quarter hiatus, its position is hardly secure with Acer following behind by just 50,000 units.
- Acer - After enjoying two quarters in the number three spot, Acer's worldwide shipment volumes decreased 33.1% sequentially, the only vendor among the top five to experience a sequential decline. At the same time, Acer was the only vendor among the top five to have a positive year-over-year improvement at an impressive 110.4%. By the end of the quarter, Acer earned 5.7% worldwide market share.
- Medion - Rounding out and returning to the top five vendor list after a two quarter absence is Medion, whose shipments grew an astounding 287.8% from the previous quarter, the largest sequential increase of any of the top five vendors. When compared to its volumes from a year ago, shipments decreased 15.7%. Unlike the top four vendors, the majority of Medion's shipments have been confined within Western Europe, making it the only company with a single regional footprint to earn top five worldwide honors, and ultimately took 4.3% market share.
|
Rank
|
Vendor
|
4Q 2005 Shipments
|
4Q 2005 Market Share
|
4Q 2004 Shipments
|
4Q 2004 Market Share
|
|
1
|
Palm
|
1,019,464
|
45.6%
|
1,174,371
|
43.0%
|
|
2
|
HP
|
465,000
|
20.8%
|
695,427
|
25.4%
|
|
3
|
Dell
|
178,500
|
8.0%
|
196,572
|
7.2%
|
|
4
|
Acer
|
126,602
|
5.7%
|
60,197
|
2.2%
|
|
5
|
Medion
|
96,942
|
4.3%
|
115,000
|
4.2%
|
|
|
Others
|
349,067
|
15.6%
|
491,849
|
18.0%
|
|
|
Total
|
2,235,575
|
100.0%
|
2,733,386
|
100.0%
|
Source: IDC Handheld QView, February 2, 2006
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RE: Good news for Palm...
RE: Good news for Palm...
Interestingly LG, a POS licensee, has a 2.4 Inch VGA LCD already developed. ( http://tinyurl.com/8mrth ) On the other hand, they just released another WM smartphone ( http://tinyurl.com/amgcb )
Surur
They said I only argued for the sake of arguing, but after an hour I convinced them they were wrong...
RE: Good news for Palm...
But even compared to smartphone sales, which grew 75% in 2005, it's hard to see how you can justify a claim that pda sales are 'holding up pretty well'
May You Live in Interesting Times
RE: Good news for Palm...
It could be worse?
Surur
They said I only argued for the sake of arguing, but after an hour I convinced them they were wrong...
RE: Good news for Palm...
The PDA will never die because a smartphone is nothing more than a PDA with phone capabilities, the same way PDAs gained wireless capabilities with bluetooth and wi-fi hardware.
It is just a matter of time until smartphones catch up to PDAs with larger screens, dual wireless and all those features that keep some of us users from totally going smartphone.
RE: Good news for Palm...
It is just a matter of time until smartphones catch up to PDAs with larger screens ... etc
Actually, it seems that it's taking Palm a long time to make a smartphone with a larger screen, dual wireless etc.
Consider this WinMobile offering:
http://shop.orange.co.uk/shop/show/handset/orange_spv_m5000/detail/pay_monthly
http://shop.orange.co.uk/shop/show/handset/orange_spv_m5000/features
"It is commonly said, and more particularly by Lord Shaftesbury, that ridicule is the best test of truth".
Lord Chesterfield
RE: Good news for Palm...
Come on Palm, pull your socks up and make something I can upgrade to.
Fish
Palm in #1 position and regaining market share.
Palm is #1 and I am damned happy.
Keep buying the Z22, TX and LifeDrives!
Too bad Access Co doesn't have the cash to buy Palm Inc. They were barely able to convince the banks to get the cash needed to buy Palm Source.
Motorola / Access Co joint venture?
Nokia / Access?
Dell / Access?
HP / Access?
PDAs are DYING
There's no reason to buy/manage/charge/carry/sync/fight/fumble with 2+ devices when ONE Smartphone can do it all.
RE: PDAs are DYING
I use a LD and to replace it with a SmartPhone I would need:
1. More memory than the current crop of phones
2. Larger screen (spreadsheets, databases, word docs, web browsing, pdfs, etc.).
3. Built-in WiFi
4. NO CAMERA ( I work for a company that doesn't permit them)
5. Palm OS
RE: PDAs are DYING
Unless they make a "converged" device as convenient as a "non-converged" device PDAs will never dissapear. I know the Treo is pretty good, but is too bulky if you compare it to an "El cheapo" Nokia or Motorola cell-phone. I carry my cell everywhere and my PDA only when I need it, I preferr the two device approach.
I don't think that eventually all personal consumer electronic gadgets will converge into a single unit. Look at one of the most succesful designs of all time, the iPod, with over 40 million units sold already. It is not a multi-purpose device, it only plays audio and very limited video. Now see the flop that was the ROKR...
RE: PDAs are DYING
Dell and HP are now adding cellular radios to some of their laptop computers. By IDC's logic, these are no longer PCs -- they are now phones.
BlackBerries and the PocketPC Phone Edition devices are excluded from IDC's PDA category, even though the voice capability of these devices is not the primary reason for their purchase. This is where a lot of the shipment volume of this product category is moving, as cellphones increasingly take on much of the functionality of low-end (non-wireless) PDAs.
RE: PDAs are DYING
PDAs with integrated GPS capabilities (or linked via Bluetooth to a GPS receiver) are doing well in Europe, and it is surprising the Palm has not been more active in this space, unless they don't want to step on Garmin's toes. The $1,000+ OnStar-type navigation systems that are built into many vehicles have a larger display, but not much more essential functionality.
Oh dear, here we go again....
There's no reason to buy/manage/charge/carry/sync/fight/fumble with 2+ devices when ONE Smartphone can do it all.
/
holy River Dancing moses.... in addition to the reasons already cited by many other posters here, just how hard is it to manage 2 handheld devices? Ppl manage 2 automobiles, 2 desktop/laptop computers, 2 consoles, 2 dogs, 2 cats, ..... hell, some of us even manage 2 children and even 2 wives just fine. Are you really saying it's 3 fold plus more difficult to manage something like a T|T3 with a Motorola v188?
BUY
it was easier to get them seperate. Going only converged significantly shrinks your selection. Well, not 100% true. As always, those with a more spacious wallet get more choices at the cost just that.
MANAGE
I can see this being an issue, but *NOT* for everyone. Those of us who use use a PDA for higher end stuff need to manage this. Not too bad once you learn the pOS or WM ropes. It's likely we'd also have just a basic cellphone for calls and perhaps some text messaging and not some fancy RAZR. All you'd need to manage on a basic cellphone is to set up your address book, pref, settings, ringtones, voice mail, and voice dialing. Little actual maintenance needed after that
CHARGE
I got plenty of outlets in my apartment. By the token of your statement, let's also ditch the digicam to not have to worry about another device.
CARRY
For casual nights out, i suppose one could lose the PDA and just get by w/cell ph, but you could always get a belt clip for your phone. Women have it made here with pocket book and purses. Else for longer trip, just throw it in your bag along with your PSP/GBA/DS and camera.
SYNC
Again, I'll acknowledge syncing 2 devices can create complexities, but if one of your devices is relatively simple, syncing won't be needed (or even be possible)
FIGHT
Fight? This sounds something like a childhood trauma associated with a bad "My First Sony" consumer device. Unless your Palm, PPC, smartphone are crashing often, there really shouldn't be any fight
FUMBLE
Personally, if the battery for one of my devices went dead, I'd rather not be left nothing. I'd also rather not be fumbling through the same calling device to look up stuff or take notes eitehr while making a call. For networking, email, and internet stuff, this would be annoying. You'd need BT to connect the 2 devices which is a pain. Otherwise, it's just like any other scenario. One device to play "AAA games", another to take pictures, another to make calls, and another to work on Office/PIMs/whatever.
QUOTE
the NON-CELLULAR "PDA" is dead.
/
hopefully you're wrong. I can still see non celluar PDAs still in the game. They'll just have less marketshare over smartphones. It's like saying VHS will be wiped out now that DVD players/recorders, DVD movies, DVD recording media are cheaper than ever. They're big now, but VHS is still being used.
"Do you know the difference between an error and a mistake? Anyone can make an error, but that error doesn't become a mistake until you refuse to correct it."
-Grand Admiral Thrawn
the secret to enjoying your job is to have a hobby that's even worse
My PDAs: Visor --> Visor Neo (blue) --> Zire 71 --> Tungsten T3 (with 4 of 6 screws still remaining) ~?~> zodiac 2?
RE: PDAs are DYING
ackmon - you quote star trek and carry a utility belt with six gadgets on it. trust me, we are not remotely in the same demographic.
RE: PDAs are DYING
I carry 6 gadgets on my utility belt while you only carry 5 gadgets at once. The difference is indeed clear.
The biggest problem with convergence...
I loved my Treo but after getting used to wifi data speeds I'll never go back to a single device without wifi. That's why I'll still maintain two devices for the forseeable future. A "smartphone lite" (nokia series60) that handles basic PIM plus gives bluetooth access to GPRS and a dual wireless PDA (as of yesterday a Nokia 770).
I'm going to miss all the applications my zire 72 has, but I can't deal with its single tasking any more.
I agree the convenience of a single device to keep charged and synced is a powerful allure, but without wifi it isn't worth it for me.
Now Nokia has announced a Skype client for the N770 available this spring. It may be that convergence is coming from the other direction... instead of trying to merge a PDA with a cell phone, you just add VOIP to your PDA.
RE: The biggest problem with convergence...
That's what I'm starting to think, too, as time goes by. Ask yourself a simple question: as a consumer would you rather pay The Man or stick it to The Man? Wireless operators are The Man and meshed WiFi networks are going to steadily erode their control, just as Internet publishing has eroded the control of other oligarchies: the press, music labels, government administrations, etc.
My concession to wishful thinking for today. Reality will be more complicated fer sure.
David Beers
Pikesoft Mobile Computing
Software Everywhere blog
www.pikesoft.com/blog
RE: The biggest problem with convergence...
"Meet the New Boss, Same as the Old Boss"
May You Live in Interesting Times
RE: The biggest problem with convergence...
David Beers
Pikesoft Mobile Computing
Software Everywhere blog
www.pikesoft.com/blog
RE: The biggest problem with convergence...
Technically, it's easy for the provider of a wifi based subnet to do.
May You Live in Interesting Times
RE: The biggest problem with convergence...
1. WIFI drains battery much faster than Cellular.
2. WIFI is not ubiquitous.
3. WIFI is not always free.
now please stop being foolish.
RE: The biggest problem with convergence...
There's no reason to buy/manage/charge/carry/sync/fight/fumble with 2+ devices when ONE Smartphone can do it all.
RE: The biggest problem with convergence...
May You Live in Interesting Times
RE: The biggest problem with convergence...
what else are you really looking to do that a smartphone can't and a pda can?
RE: The biggest problem with convergence...
- Read documents without eyestrain.
- View spreadsheets without eyestrain.
- Watch videos without eyestrain.
- Play games without eyestrain.
- Remotely access a desktop computer without eyestrain.
- Read emails + attachments without eyestrain.
Your love affair with your Treo is quite touching, Geeko but eventually you will grow up and learn why it does not replace the separate PDA + cellphone solution for many users.
After using every permutation + combination of cellphone, smartphone and standalone PDA over the years, I've found the setup that suits me is a small, high quality, reliable PalmOS smartphone (Samsung i500) + a high end standalone PDA (Sony CLIE UX50, TH55 or VZ90 depending on circumstance). RecoX and HotSyncing easily keeps them all in sync. The only thing missing is Bluetooth in the i500, which would have allowed for wireless connectivity in places lacking Wi-Fi. Thanks to the dumba$$es at Sprint, we'll never see the Samsung i550 - the perfect smartphone for those of us preferring phone-centric smartphones. (The i550 makes the Treo 600 and your precious Treo 650 look like the steaming pile of feces they really are.)
http://www.palminfocenter.com/view_story.asp?ID=6725
Ideally, a smartphone should have no compromises - excellent voice capabilities and perfect PDA functionality. Eventually HTC, Samsung et al will produce a small smartphone design with a slide-out keyboard and a large OLED screen that allows users to comfortably do whatever they want to do on the device without squinting. And the Palm devices especially need to stop sounding like you're talking from the bottom of a well and randomly crashing during conversations. Until that point, you really need to S T F U about how "ONE Smartphone can do it all".
TVoR
------------------------
Sony CLIE UX100: 128 MB real RAM, OLED screen. All the PDA anyone really ever wanted.
------------------------
The Palm eCONomy = Communism™
The Great Palm Swindle: http://www.palminfocenter.com/comment_view.asp?ID=7864#108038
NetFrontLinux - the next major cellphone OS?: http://www.palminfocenter.com/comment_view.asp?ID=8060#111823
RE: The biggest problem with convergence... Part 2
- Battery life. If you use cellphone + PDA extensively throughout the day, chances are the smartphone will die on you in just a few hours. Not a problem with a good PDA like the CLIE TH55 or VZ90 and a good cellphone like the Sony Ericsson K750i (with an honest 9 hour talk time).
- Style. In Europe, business and to a lesser degree the general population in North America, cellphones are a fashion statement. The Motorola RAZR isn't a sales success because it has amazing voice quality or great features. Its only redeeming quality is its looks, but based on sales that obviously has been more than enough to satify consumers. Until smartphones stop looking so dorky, they'll have limited appeal.
- Redundancy. Lose your cellphone and you still have all your data, contacts, etc on your PDA. Lose your PDA and you still have contacts + schedule on your cellphone. Lose your smartphone and you've got bupkis.
- Convenience. Ever tried to use the PDA part of a smartphone to look something up or take notes during a conversation? Not pretty. Unless you switch to Tin Can mode (speakerphone or Bluetooth headset) it's an exercise in frustration. Separate devices are simply more effective for concommittant usage.
- Flexibility. Tired of using your current cellphone? Found a new feature on a PDA (like integrated keyboard) that you now want? Broke your cellphone? No problem - just replace the one device you need to change and keep everything else the same. Smartphone users have to replace everything whenever they want to change either PDA or phone components.
The ONLY advantage of smartphones is integration, but this comes at a heavy price. Well made devices like the Samsung i550 allow users to obtain many of the advantages of having a smartphone (ever-present access to data) without many of the disadvantages (size, weight, geeky appearance). Eventually, ALL cellphones will become smartphones in one way or another, but not until this can be done without any size/style penalties. The Samsung i550 + Sony CLIE TH55 would have made a KILLER setup for power users looking for the ultimate in flexibility. The Treos, on the other hand, simply have too many compromises and flaws to appeal to true PDA power users.
TVoR
------------------------
Sony CLIE UX100: 128 MB real RAM, OLED screen. All the PDA anyone really ever wanted.
------------------------
The Palm eCONomy = Communism™
The Great Palm Swindle: http://www.palminfocenter.com/comment_view.asp?ID=7864#108038
NetFrontLinux - the next major cellphone OS?: http://www.palminfocenter.com/comment_view.asp?ID=8060#111823
RE: The biggest problem with convergence...
A shame Sprint withheld that i550 Samsung from market. All it was lacking was BT which could have been easily rectified the next revision. AND it had analog for all of us hillbilly users out in the sticks!
Pilot 1000-->Pilot 5000-->PalmPilot Pro-->IIIe-->Vx-->m505-->T|T-->T|T2-->T|C-->T|T3-->T|T5-->TX
RE: The biggest problem with convergence...
TVoR:
"(The i550 makes the Treo 600 and your precious Treo 650 look like the steaming pile of feces they really are.)"
Bet it didn't have such a *lovely* screen. Or the superb threaded SMS client. Or the *huge* range of Call Management software you can get for a Treo nowadays...
Stylistically, it kills the Treo. Realistically? I pity your puny keyboard-less "smartphone". :P
Tim Carroll
Your friendly customer service robot
(and big Treo fan)
RE: The biggest problem with convergence...
You apparently are not familiar with Sprint. "Stupidity" explains quite a lot of their actions. Sony Ericsson T608, anyone?
TVoR:
"(The i550 makes the Treo 600 and your precious Treo 650 look like the steaming pile of feces they really are.)"
Bet it didn't have such a *lovely* screen. Or the superb threaded SMS client. Or the *huge* range of Call Management software you can get for a Treo nowadays...
Actually, it has a great screen. Being an adult, I don't use SMS, so I can't comment on perceived SMS quality. Users are of course free to install any of several third party SMS programs on their PalmOS devices. I'm not sure what kind of "Call Management software" you're needing on your phone. I want a smartphone's phone part to have excellent voice quality, an answering machine, easy dialling from the address book and (optionally) a speakerphone. Everything else is fluff. My ancient Samsung i500 absolutely DESTROYS the Treos in terms of voice quality. In fact, it's the best-sounding cellphone I've ever used - it's indistinguishable from a land line. The build quality also makes the Treos look like crap. I briefly played around with an i550 before Sprint finally killed it off, but didn't get the chance to use the phone components. I would expect voice quality is at least on par with the i500, though.
Stylistically, it kills the Treo. Realistically? I pity your puny keyboard-less "smartphone". :P
Keep your keyboard. I'll keep my Samsung and its flawless voice quality and reliability. Caviar for the General.
TVoR
------------------------
Sony CLIE UX100: 128 MB real RAM, OLED screen. All the PDA anyone really ever wanted.
------------------------
The Palm eCONomy = Communism™
The Great Palm Swindle: http://www.palminfocenter.com/comment_view.asp?ID=7864#108038
NetFrontLinux - the next major cellphone OS?: http://www.palminfocenter.com/comment_view.asp?ID=8060#111823
RE: The biggest problem with convergence...
The beauty of teaming something like a RAZR with a dedicated 320*480 PDA is that it's SO small you might as well be carrying just a single device (the PDA). The RAZR is the first no-compromises cellphone I've ever used in regards to carying it around regardless of attire.
Pilot 1000-->Pilot 5000-->PalmPilot Pro-->IIIe-->Vx-->m505-->T|T-->T|T2-->T|C-->T|T3-->T|T5-->TX
RE: The biggest problem with convergence...
Palm could score by releasing a modernized Vidor Edge with TX-level specs and SOLID build quality...and a better stylus. That would make a killer tandem with any flavor of RAZR supporting BT DUN.
Pilot 1000-->Pilot 5000-->PalmPilot Pro-->IIIe-->Vx-->m505-->T|T-->T|T2-->T|C-->T|T3-->T|T5-->TX
RE: The biggest problem with convergence...
Unfortunately, it's not "simply you become a node". ISPs are already modifying their TOSes to prohibit you from allowing non-payers from camping, but the node-on-a-pole folk are going to want to make money from their nodes, so they'll probably continue the model that's already in use in hotels and other hotspots: You have to sign in to use the service and in order to sign in you have to have a valid active account.
First of all, I've never been in a hotel that charged for wireless Internet. There's free WiFi at the Colorado Springs airport (not O'Hare), free WiFi at my favorite bookstores here and in Chicago, free WiFi at the Panera cafe where I hang out after work, free WiFi at the offices of my clients, and at least one open hotspot in range almost anywhere I go around my town (often 3 or 4 to choose from). It's not quite ubiquitous, and switching between networks isn't yet seamless, but even today I make and receive over half of my phone calls on the road using Skype over WiFi.
Even when you do have to pay for WLAN connectivity, it's generally much cheaper than a contract for WAN data because the places that provide it subsidize it to get you in their door. I don't bother paying $20-40/mo for a data plan from my cell carrier any more because that much will cover me for half a year of paid WiFi at the odd Starbucks I visit.
What I like about WiFi is the freedom to use whatever device I choose: a laptop, a PDA, an Internet tablet--whatever I happen to be carrying at the moment. If I were using GPRS or EV-DO with these devices I'd have to pay for a data plan for each of them. Bluetooth was supposed to make it so you only needed one device to connect everything to the WAN, but the operators have made sure that this isn't a practical solution, either by crippling their phones or by slapping extra charges on you if you try to connect a laptop over the BT. That freedom (and cost saving) is worth occasionally being away from my email for an hour or so.
I still think the promise of WiFi is more potential than reality right now, and it may very well turn out to be a disappointment, but at the moment I'm finding it to be surprisingly good for my mobile wireless needs. I would never have believed this could be the case as little as a year ago.
David Beers
Pikesoft Mobile Computing
Software Everywhere blog
www.pikesoft.com/blog
RE: The biggest problem with convergence...
"Actually, it has a great screen."
But as nice as the 650's? You gotta admit, whatever your opinion of the build quality, it is a *very* nice screen on the 650. Extraordinarily bright, very sharp.
"Being an adult, I don't use SMS, so I can't comment on perceived SMS quality."
You could probably alter that to "Being an American, I don't use SMS." ;) Many adults over here are even more hopelessly addicted than children. (Hello, my grandparents...) And it's not 'perceived' quality; it really *is* a well-designed app. Not that it takes an astounding degree of innovation to make a good SMS client, mind you... but nevertheless, the Treo has a great one.
"I want a smartphone's phone part to have excellent voice quality, an answering machine, easy dialling from the address book and (optionally) a speakerphone. Everything else is fluff."
The Treo voice quality issue mystifies me. No one has ever complained about the voice quality of mine; I even recorded a few messages of myself onto my answering machine just to make sure there were no issues. I couldn't spot any. I suspect it may be an issue with the CDMA Treos, but not the GSM ones. (Feel free to speak up, fellow GSM Treo owners...)
Easy dialing from the address book? Just start typing on the oh-so-handy keyboard... Speakerphone? Check. (Loud and clear too...) Answering machine - do you mean voicemail? If the i550 had it's own built-in digital answering machine... that's pretty darn cool.
"The build quality also makes the Treos look like crap."
The 650's build quality is actually quite good - certainly superior to the 600. You yourself pointed that out in an earlier thread on Treos ;) Maybe it doesn't quite match up to these Samsung models, but it's certainly good enough for me.
"Keep your keyboard. I'll keep my Samsung and its flawless voice quality and reliability. Caviar for the General."
I certainly don't mean to disparage the i500 or i550, both of which look like quite nice phones. I do, however, take issue with "steaming pile of feces" to describe the world's best smartphone. Which is obviously the Treo :P
Tim Carroll
Your friendly customer service robot
(and big Treo fan)
RE: The biggest problem with convergence...
The most recent time I was it was when I went to Ottawa for the '05 Ottawa Linux Symposium. I had my choice of two wi-fi plans, one from the hotel, one from the phone company. Both ran about $50 / week canadian.
Probably the first serious users of wifi on the road in the US were truckers. Many truckstops now offer wifi, mostly on a subscription basis.
Similarly, while you can find free wifi at some eateries, you can also find yourself paying for it at others. The largest provider of wifi hotspots in the US just now is AT&T, and they don't give 'em away.
May You Live in Interesting Times
RE: The biggest problem with convergence...
VOR - maybe if I made $40K a year and worked at a help desk I could see your point, but since my income and responsibilities are many a multiple of that, I can't.
RE: The biggest problem with convergence...
VOR - maybe if I made $40K a year and worked at a help desk I could see your point, but since my income and responsibilities are many a multiple of that, I can't.
You really don't have to keep trying so hard to convince people you're an @sshole, Gekko. And somehow I doubt you'd hang around here just to troll as you do if you had actual responsibilities. You probably still live with your parents, just like TVoR does! ;-)
Having said that, I'm with the Voice on this one: I had a choice between the Treo 600 and the i500 when Sprint first brought them out and thought the Samsung was superior in almost every regard as a business phone. The Treo seemed fragile, unstable, bulky, and more like a toy than a tool. When the 650 came out I briefly considered it, but I quickly realized I'd still be giving up on the things I wanted for a phone to do business with: rock solid stability, great build quality, excellent voice capability (this is my main business phone), and a pocketable form factor that didn't require a belt case. I *like* the keypad on the i500: it's better for quick dialing when you can't look at the phone and I'm much faster with FITALY for data entry than I ever was on a thumbboard.
The only thing I miss on the i500 is Bluetooth.
David Beers
Pikesoft Mobile Computing
Software Everywhere blog
www.pikesoft.com/blog
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Good news for Palm...
Acer deserves to do well. They are pushing the envelope with innovative products, and hopefully taking over from the lazy HP.
http://www.palminfocenter.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=29442
All of these OEM's, even Medion, are moving to phone devices. Hopefully these can happen with as little compromises as possible. It probably means we can say goodbey to large screens however :(
Surur
They said I only argued for the sake of arguing, but after an hour I convinced them they were wrong...