Palm LifeDrive in Short Supply?
PalmInfocenter has been receiving a number of reader reports that several Palm devices are increasingly out of stock in brick and mortar retailers nationwide. Of particular interest is the fact that the LifeDrive seems be in especially short supply of late. However, readers are also reporting that the TX and E2 are out of stock in some major retail outlets.
Palm's own webstore is currently listing the LifeDrive as unavailable, despite a page listing for "LifeDrive mobile managers" (note the plural) still being linked to from the main Palm Store front page.
In addition, a number of sales and substantial discounts are being offered on recent Palm devices. I've personally noticed that the TX and E2 have recently been out of stock or down to a single remaining unit in chains like Circuit City, Best Buy, and Office Depot.
The Tungsten E2 is Palm's oldest current model, having been launched in March of 2005.
The LifeDrive is the only current model still brandishing the old "PalmOne" logo since its introduction in May 2005. It features an internal 4gb MicroDrive, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity in addition to a 320x480 screen and a voice recorder.
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RE: Is this the end?
Pat Horne
RE: Is this the end?
A hacksaw and all the parts are already in the bin down at the warehouse. While your at it, call up Intel (or whoever it is now) and buy all their unused 624 procs for pennies on the buck to power it. They've probably got enough in mothballs to go in the 2,500 PDAs Palm could sell in 07'.
While your at it, just stick the cheesy MP3 hardware from the Z72 and the SD slot, into the Z22, mold it in camo, hot pink, white, RockyTop Orange, and Hello Kitty color schemes. Sell it for $99 as a iPod killer with a $10 off gift certificate for backstock SD cards and earbuds from the P1 store.
Wind it down while thickin' the plating on the execs golden chutes for 08'.
That's my forecast.
Pat Horne
RE: Is this the end?
> office and employee reward schlock updated to PalmOne from
> the little blue ball Palm. :-D
Oh great, dueling Palm branded office junk in the eBay liquidation sale. Only Palm could spend more money keeping their logos more up to date than their OS.
RE: Is this the end?
I've got an old Palm branded lip protector click case (like chapstick, but in a small can). I can't even remember where I got it from. Should I take it to the antiques roadshow? :-)
I'm still waiting for the mythical color HandEra.
Thinking about Vista? Think again: http://www.cs.auckland.ac.nz/~pgut001/pubs/vista_cost.txt
Why are these reports either significant or unexpected?
Why, then, is it somehow unexpected that non-smartphone PALM devices are becoming scarce?
Are some expecting PALM to announce NEW non-smartphone devices that somehow are going to floor The Consumer more than prior devices, thus being somehow worthwhile for PALM to produce and abandon their stated intent to get OUT of that sector?
Example from the last CC:
== "...But on your handheld side of your assumption, we have said continually
== that our year-over-year declines in handheld is going to be between 20% and
== 30%..."
And from the CC before that:
== "...Jonathan Goldberg - Deutsche Bank
==
== It is getting late in the call, but no one has asked yet. What
== is the outlook for PDAs, the handheld business, going forward? How
== do you model those declines?
==
== Edward T. Colligan
==
== We are pretty relentlessly focused on Smartphones here, so we
== clearly see that as the huge growth area opportunity of our business.
== We have modeled the handheld business to decline at a 20% to 30% kind
== of rate, consistently..."
Not really new news
It was a POS anyway... (no, that doesn't stand for Palm OS!)
JLM.
iTreoDrive?
I was surprised how quick I was able to sell my LifeDrive.
RE: iTreoDrive?
Pat Horne
RE: iTreoDrive?
It is obvious
RE: It is obvious
Pat Horne
RE: It is obvious
> That means new replacements for Lifedrive, TX, TE2 and Z22 are coming.
> It is obvious, isn't it?
Obvious? To me, it sounds like a company that is going out of business.
RE: It is obvious
Harold
RE: It is obvious
RE: It is obvious
Specifically he 'wished Apple good luck' and welcomed their entrance into the fray.
There was a thread in response to an earlier post on PIC about this interview, and one of the comments provides a link to the entire interview, which lasts less than an hour. For the Palm devotee, it's an interesting listen to.
Harold
RE: It is obvious
LifeDrive EOL'd
----------
Senior Editor, Webmaster, and host of podcast at www.palmforums.org
RE: LifeDrive EOL'd
Not doubting you, just wondering...
Does anyone know when the next media event/show might possibly be where Palm could announce a new handheld?
Palm's not always stuck to the traditional Spring/Fall release patterns, especially in the last year or so in regards to new Treos.
The 700w launched in January 2006. The i705 came out in January of 2002. Then the T|T2, which was just a refreshed T|T, came out in the middle of the summer, July of 2003 I believe.
I could actually see Palm redoing their whole release cycle and doing "non-core" products (ie PDAs or TNGT) in the winter or early fall, then smartphones in early summer or late fall (like the 680).
Pilot 1000-->Pilot 5000-->PalmPilot Pro-->IIIe-->Vx-->m505-->T|T-->T|T2-->T|C-->T|T3-->T|T5-->TX-->Treo 700P
RE: LifeDrive EOL'd
And if you say "Buy now" a completely blank web page comes up.
Is there any doubt?
======
In other news, I personally think the 700P, 700W, and 700WX are EOL, too.
Watch them earnings calls and PR-fluffs!
RE: LifeDrive EOL'd
http://channelsource.palm.com/regac/salestools/ViewDocument?app=chsrc&docId=495
----------
Senior Editor, Webmaster, and host of podcast at www.palmforums.org
What about the secret product
RE: Ha! Ha! Ha! I Got Mine, Jack!
http://mikecane.wordpress.com/2007/01/17/lifedrive-notes-behold-it-is-it/
Stores are virtually hiding PDAs
The Treos, on the other hand, are on the phone shelves at all the stores. However, every clerk I spoke to said that even those are selling slower. They said other phones (smart or otherwise) seem more sexy and taking sales away from Palm.
RE: Stores are virtually hiding PDAs
> and taking sales away from Palm.
That has been obvious since the Q was released. Even PALM management acknowledged it...repeatedly, e.g.:
== "...This was the result of slower-than-expected retail sell-through
== to consumers as lower-priced competing products were introduced
== to the marketplace..."
and
== "...Obviously as we went into the fiscal year, we anticipated additional
== competition. One of the things we had anticipated is that those competitors
== would actually grow the market. What we have seen is they really have not
== grown the market as much as we had anticipated..."
and more recently:
== "...I think what we saw there at the end of last quarter was probably
== more related to the competitive onslaught that was happening at the time
== and our ability relative to the different carriers promoting various
== solutions..."
It's Toast...
"Palm, this is Mike"
"Hi - I was trying to order a Lifedrive on your web site and all I could get was a blank screen when I tried to order."
"That's 'cause we're out of 'em. That's probably why you got a blank screen."
"Oh. Any idea when you'll get more?"
"Hopefully soon."
(Pause). "When should I check back with you?"
"I'd say just pull up the web site every few days and check."
"OK - thanks"
Clearly the Lifedrive is gone. More importantly, I'm amazed at how fundamentally pathetic Palm's efforts are to manage this. No effort to put intelligent messaging on the site to advise the units are out of stock (or the line is being terminated), and no meaningful response from their salespeople. I'd at least expect a half-hearted attempt to ask if another model was of interest, and that leads me to believe that the Tx and other handhelds are soon to follow.
Welcome to PalmPhones! I wonder how long they will last...
Puck
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Is this the end?