Palm at CTIA Wireless 2008
PalmInfocenter is on the scene at the CTIA Wireless show going on this week in Las Vegas. Palm is not exhibiting this year and does not have a booth at the conference, however they were present at MobileFocus, a smaller scale press only event.
Read for our report from the show and checkout what Palm was showing at the event.
Palm had a table setup at MobileFocus a Pepcom press event. This year MobileFocus was held at the Las Vegas Bellagio hotel. The event itself has about 50 or so companies showing off their various products and recent announcements to journalists.
Pictured above is a shot of the Palm booth. On the far left looking away from the camera is Rob Katcher, Senior Product Manager, Smartphones at Palm. Rob is responsible for Palm's Centro and Treo 755p product lines. The two smiling faces are Alex and Sara of Palm's PR team.
Palm had no major announcements or new products to show off, other than the One-millionth Centro sold news, and was thus showing off the current line along with some accessories. Palm has an assortment of Centro's on display including the Pink version and the newly available obsidian black at&t Centro. Palm also had a couple of Treo 755p's on the table including the greenish Verizon model.
Palm also had a couple of accessories on display but nothing terribly new or interesting. Pictured above is a usb Centro cradle.
Palm also had a few Centro cases on display including the Dooney & Bourke Centro Wristlet (Pictured in light blue), the Golla Calla Pouch for Centro and the Palm Slip Pouch with Lanyards for the Centro (pictured in teal and brown.) Palm was also showing its latest Bluetooth headset.
In other news we couldn't get a word out of Rob about anything on Nova, other than what Ed Colligan has previously stated. Sprint let loose in a press release that it would be offering a new Windows Mobile 6.1 powered Treo this summer, but of course Palm would not comment further on that. Palm also isn't saying whether it will provide an update for its current Windows powered models.
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RE: Sara
http://blog.palm.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/2007/10/01/img_00181.jpg
Pilot 1000->Pilot 5000->PalmPilot Pro->IIIe->Vx->m505->T|T->T|T2->T|C->T|T3->T|T5->TX->Verizon Treo 700P->Verizon 755p
RE: Sara
Where did all the PDA's go
RE: Where did all the PDA's go
Why not jump in on the smart phone band wagon, give it a go?
RE: Where did all the PDA's go
Disclaimer: I probably own more smartphones than anyone else here.
RE: Where did all the PDA's go
"I want a PDA...waaaaaaahhh"
Dell realized the PDA was outdated and ditched them 2 years ago. Now Dell is coming back but with smartphones.
RE: Where did all the PDA's go
Pilot 1000->Pilot 5000->PalmPilot Pro->IIIe->Vx->m505->T|T->T|T2->T|C->T|T3->T|T5->TX->Verizon Treo 700P->Verizon 755p
RE: Where did all the PDA's go
RE: Where did all the PDA's go
People get hung up on the whole PDA definition. The iPod Touch seems to be doing great despite having most of the same functions as a "PDA."
What PDA functions does the iPod Touch have? The SDK seems determined to prevent developers from tapping into useful PDA functions (e.g., no support for tapping into the calendar). I don't even see support for alarms in the specs.
RE: Where did all the PDA's go
The reason we aren't seeing any new pure PDAs is simple economics. If enough people were buying them, manufacturers would be falling all over themselves to make them. The iPod Touch is selling well as a media player, not as a PDA.
RE: Where did all the PDA's go
Wrong and Wrong.
The reason they aren't selling well is because they haven't been updated in two years, as well as Palm not having updated their OS in several years. Something that also never helped was the fact that it was never advertised properly. Even today when I pull out my TX people say Wow what is that. Everyone has seen an iPod commercial, even older (80+) people I know have knowledge of the iPhone.
People buy the Touch because of it's combined capabilities (which just happen to be it's PDA features in addition to Media) not just because it's a media player. Their biggest gripe is it's smaller memory size which hurts it's media capabilities as opposed to it's other iPod versions.
PDA's Past and Present:
Palm TX (Number 2)
Palm - IIIxe, Vx, M500, M505, Tungsten T, TX
Handspring - Edge, Platinum, Deluxe
Sony - SJ22, UX50
Casio-EM500
Apple - MP110, MP2000, MP2100
RE: Where did all the PDA's go
I agree it's the overall package that makes the Touch attractive, especially the browser.
RE: Where did all the PDA's (to the landfill)
Although PDAs are important and useful tools, many people I know find that they have to carry a PDA and a cell phone. Personally, I hate carrying a PDA, cell phone, and a laptop. With my Centro I can address most of the functions without the bulk, bother, and multitude of cables.
Really, if we actually believed that the PDA market was more important then wouldn't we have noticed if Apple had sold more of their iPod Touch models rather than the iPhone?
I like Palm's focus on "mobile computing", and believe it is the future. As I see it, that future would include a combination of a PDA and a cell phone. If I am lucky it will also a device that has WiFi and GPS (and perhaps a decent battery life). Certainly I would insist on a stable OS (aka, not Windows).
Since I am being picky, I would like it to be a "green" technology (easy on the environment).
But until then, I will continue to carry my Centro
RE: Where did all the PDA's go
Who says that hasn't happened? Apple hasn't released figures yet.
And who says that *won't* happen?
People won't go for the iPod Classic forever. (The nano still has staying power; so perhaps does the Shuffle.)
It's recently been revealed that Apple has advertised for a Handwriting Recognition engineer. Although I doubt we'll see the Touch sporting a stylus anytime soon, something is up for the future.
RE: Where did all the PDA's go
The iPod Touch has the software to be a PDA. The calendar, contacts, and notes would be adequate for many users. I was considering one as a PDA for my wife, but there was one deal breaker: no speaker. The sounds produced by the little piezo chirper are too weak to be heard in a pocket, purse, or noisy room, so the alarms are useless.
I think the problem runs deeper than just the speaker. The reason the Palm has been such a good PDA isn't just because of its built-in functions. It's because of programs that have been built on top of those functions (e.g., DateBk for the calendar, HoliDates, etc.) You can find a replacement for any of the PDA functions to make a Palm stronger in that area than the basic setup. And because applications can't run in the background, something as simple as a timer isn't going to work on the iPhone/iPod Touch.
In a lot of ways, the SDK is a castrated system.
This jus in: utter dullness for the remainder of 2008!
I'm hoping for the formerly but greatly fearing the later.
I'm going to go ahead and and make my usual predictions for the remainder of the year now since things are so slow:
1. 800w debuts in August on Sprint running WM 6.0. It arrives several months later (November/December-ish) on Verizon with 6.1 pre-installed. Both models offer nice specs but are hobbled by short battery life and locked/crippled GPS functionality.
2. Palm EOLs their remaining handheld models shortly after a final flurry of heavy discounting for father's day & the back to school shopping season. Palm's only commentary on the final demise of their PDA line is a series of blog posts from "users" who have migrated from a PDA to a Centro and claim to have 10x the productivity and 10x the fun.
3. The Centro never appears on Verizon but does make it to T-Mobile. Centro sales stall throughout the summer but rebound slightly after some additional price-cutting this fall
4. The Google Mobile Maps location update never arrives for any Palm OS model and the topic is never addressed by anyone from Palm ever again. They "recommend" the 800w & the Palm GPS kits for anyone inquiring about GMM functionality on a POS device.
5. A WM 6.1 update is released for the Treo 750 only. AT&T drags their feet considerably before offering it for release.
6. The Drucker (GSM version of the 800w but with a flush touchscreen) comes out of nowhere this fall and surprises everyone with brisk initial sales & improved styling over the 800w.
7. New Centro colors & accessories are trickled out throughout the year to maintain interest in the device. Palm fails to quickly introduce a successor device to capitalize on the Centro's surprising momentum, having already stuck a fork in any future Garnet-based products.
8. Devices running Nova are quietly delayed until mid-'09
Pilot 1000->Pilot 5000->PalmPilot Pro->IIIe->Vx->m505->T|T->T|T2->T|C->T|T3->T|T5->TX->Verizon Treo 700P->Verizon 755p
RE: This jus in: utter dullness for the remainder of 2008!
I doubt T-Mobile cares about anything made by Palm.
In my experience, you're not missing much vis a vis the Google Maps location service. Even on my recent trip into the 'burbs, it couldn't find me any better than 1200 meters, and out here in the boonies its margin of error is 5000 meters. (About 3.1 miles.) And the kicker is, I'm actually outside the highlighted area. Maybe it works great in cities, but I'd rather have an actual GPS receiver.
RE: This jus in: utter dullness for the remainder of 2008!
The T-Mobile + Centro thing is definitely a stretch but I figured I had to prognosticate some kind of good news for Palm, lest I be accused of being a paid Microsoft/Apple/RIM shill again :-)
Finally, it's more that in typical Palm fashion, they "promised" to add GMM support at some unspecified point in the future, only to go totally mum on the subject. I think that by now, we've all pretty much given up hope on seeing Palm spend one additional nickel on anything Garnet-based. I mean, we're still waiting for "larger screens for palmtops":
In another room, a few executives watched Carl Yankowski's interview on CNBC, taping it for playback at the employee meeting that was to commence in minutes. After CNBC announcers gushed over "the most talked-about IPO," the camera cut to Carl Yankowski in the Nasdaq studio. Usually a compelling public speaker, Yankowski seemed out of his element. When asked about larger screens for palmtops, he answered stiffly, "We are well positioned whichever way the market goes." As the interview came to a close, the reporter said, "I've got to ask you about your suit." Yankowski smiled. He was wearing a very special suit, he let on, designed to satisfy the public's high expectations from Palm's IPO. The shiny pinstripes woven into the otherwise standard wool suit were made from threads of pure gold. CNBC cut back to the studio anchor. "Was that for real?" he asked the correspondent. The Palm managers assembled around the TV set looked at each other. "We're not showing this video," one of the executives decreed. Then they walked out to start the employee meeting.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0471089656/
Pilot 1000->Pilot 5000->PalmPilot Pro->IIIe->Vx->m505->T|T->T|T2->T|C->T|T3->T|T5->TX->Verizon Treo 700P->Verizon 755p
RE: This jus in: utter dullness for the remainder of 2008!
"So, are Palm feverishly working behind the scenes on Nova and staying mum at CTIA.... or simply dead in the water?
I'm hoping for the formerly but greatly fearing the later."
I frankly was suprised that they made any appearence so I am optismistic.
"1. 800w debuts in August on Sprint running WM 6.0. It arrives several months later (November/December-ish) on Verizon with 6.1 pre-installed. Both models offer nice specs but are hobbled by short battery life and locked/crippled GPS functionality."
May to July 08 and with 6.1 on Sprint. Told the battery is actually pretty good. I MAY get to fondle it in the next week or two if my trip to (undisclosed location in order to avoid getting friend fired)Will let you know if comes through. Frankly I know so little about WM, I probably could not say little more that look and feel.
". Palm EOLs their remaining handheld models shortly after a final flurry of heavy discounting for father's day & the back to school shopping season. Palm's only commentary on the final demise of their PDA line is a series of blog posts from "users" who have migrated from a PDA to a Centro and claim to have 10x the productivity and 10x the fun. "
Disagree, as long as they are selling they will sell them. THey get a good net per unit and so long as they are making $ they will keep them on in order to hav ethe net revenue coming in. Its far more likely for the Treo 680 to get EOLed. However, once Nova ships, they will either suck in in and do a TX2 running Nova or blow us off and then EOL the handheld line. If forced, I would say the breeze is blowing toward the users.
". The Centro never appears on Verizon but does make it to T-Mobile. Centro sales stall throughout the summer but rebound slightly after some additional price-cutting this fall "
As unhappy as Verizon was about the 700p, I do not think they will give away that marketshare to Sprint on the Centros. Ditto for T-Mobile and ATT. Sales may slow in the summer when iPhone 2.0 releases, although they may go up when folks just don't want to pay for Apple cool vs Palm function.po
"4. The Google Mobile Maps location update never arrives for any Palm OS model and the topic is never addressed by anyone from Palm ever again. They "recommend" the 800w & the Palm GPS kits for anyone inquiring about GMM functionality on a POS device."
I can't say either way, but since its more of a Google thing than Palm...
"5. A WM 6.1 update is released for the Treo 750 only. AT&T drags their feet considerably before offering it for release. "
Flat disagree here, the carriers are going to want the update. Not only is this a possible revenue source for Palm, its a good way to keep folks with their WM Treos and not in a new phone, thus keeping them around for a possible Nova Treo in 09.
"6. The Drucker (GSM version of the 800w but with a flush touchscreen) comes out of nowhere this fall and surprises everyone with brisk initial sales & improved styling over the 800w."
Hope you are right on
"7. New Centro colors & accessories are trickled out throughout the year to maintain interest in the device. Palm fails to quickly introduce a successor device to capitalize on the Centro's surprising momentum, having already stuck a fork in any future Garnet-based products."
Agreed, but the sucessor better be the Nova devices.
"8. Devices running Nova are quietly delayed until mid-'09"
Palm does not have that long.
"Many men stumble across the truth, but most manage to pick themselves up
and continue as if nothing had happened."
- Winston Churchill
RE: This jus in: utter dullness for the remainder of 2008!
- I can't say either way, but since its more of a Google thing than Palm...
Wrong. Google has said on a number of occasions that the API required for the location triangulation in GoogleMaps is hidden from them in Garnet. It is 100% up to Palm to "unhide" the API's required so Google can then utilize them and Palm stated they would release an update for "Newer Palms" That probably means that we will never see that update from them as suggested. More lies and broken promises from Palm on the horizon.
RE: This jus in: utter dullness for the remainder of 2008!
If I didn't have such an investment in software for my POS device, I'd seriously be contemplating jumping ship. I love my T3... But I am sorely disappointed with my Treo 755p. Weird, unexplained resets (that unmount my SDHC card to add insult to injury); frequent slow app transition (5-10 seconds on average, but up to 30+ seconds); loss of voice dialing through BT headset. I like the improved battery life over my T3 and I appreciate the mobile Internet (my T3 never paired properly with my e815), but it's not "that" great... I can almost _never_ do a "quick" search for anything on the Internet using my Treo. (Even using Hobbyist's Genius app.) Takes a MINIMUM of 2-3 minutes to bring it up and/or do the search and by then the topic of conversation has long passed whatever made the search relevant.
I was more productive using my T3 and e815 as separate standalone devices - without Internet - than I am using my Treo WITH Internet.
I've got a 4GB SDHC card for my Treo and only a 1GB SD card for my T3 - yet I've got TONS more usable apps on my T3 than on my Treo... I use ZLauncher and run apps from the SD card on my T3 with ease... Trying to do the same on the Treo is a nightmare. It works - but only if you don't mind WAITING... And WAITING... And WAITING... About the time you're ready to give up, it gurgles and makes a tiny jump, extending hope that it might come up eventually... Storing books and reading materials on the SDHC card is no problem; there's no delay to speak of, other than any delay opening up the app to begin with. But running apps from the SDHC card: you might as well forget it.
This is PROGRESS?!?
Somebody stop and let me out. I must have gotten on the wrong bus...
-e
TX just got better - No thanks to Palm
I just loaded Opera Mini 4.1 - a very substantial improvement that increases the utility of my large screen TX. Palm, if course, had nothing to do with it beyond the long ago hardware design.
have had best luck with medium graphics resolution - can now use the full screen size in portrait mode - 'Speed Dial' option works - thanks you Opera! (connected via old and slow T-Mobile EDGE)
RE: TX just got better - No thanks to Palm
That crapped out a prior version I tried to use on my LifeDrive.
RE: TX just got better - No thanks to Palm
RE: TX just got better - No thanks to Palm
RE: TX just got better - No thanks to Palm
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Sara
Best looking thing from Palm in a very long time.