Handspring Pulling Out of Japan?

Posted By: Ed Thursday, February 21, 2002 2:59:22 PM

Handspring seems to be moving out of the Japanese market. It closed its online store there at the end of 2001. It has never offered the Visor Neo or the Pro in Japan and the models that are available are at firesale prices. For example, the Edge and Prism are selling for 19,800 yen, which is about $150, down from 49,000 yen, or $370, their prices just a few months ago.

One factor that has hurt all the Palm OS licensees except Sony is that it is hard to read the Japanese Kanji characters in 160 by 160 resolution. This is also why Palm never released the m125 in Japan and there is no Japanese equivalent of Sony's S360.

Handspring's new Treo faces an additional hurdle: there is no GSM service in Japan. With its combination of a 160 by 160 screen and an incompatible wireless network, it doesn't seem likely the Treo will be released in Japan at all. The company would have to make a special version just for the Japanese market, where it would face stiff competition.

As Handspring has made clear that it sees its future centered around the Treo, it may be giving up Japan to Sony until it has a model better suited for the market.

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$160 for a prism?

I.M. Anonymous @ 2/21/2002 3:28:42 PM #
that's one helluva deal!

RE: $160 for a prism?
I.M. Anonymous @ 2/22/2002 8:58:34 AM #
That's just a little more than Handspring wanted to charge me to repair mine! Any idea how to order one from Japan?

RE: $160 for a prism?
I.M. Anonymous @ 2/22/2002 12:09:49 PM #
I guess the Visors in Japan has Japanese OS, I'm not sure if there are utilties to convert them into English, do you sure you want one?

Sad...

Foo Fighter @ 2/21/2002 3:27:40 PM #
It really is saddening to watch Handspring wither away, such as it is. This was once the shining star of the handheld industry. Now.....

RE: Sad...
I.M. Anonymous @ 2/21/2002 4:01:05 PM #
So true, though it certainly helps to make a profit from time to time to keep shining. Handspring still has to turn its first profitable quarter...

RE: Sad...
I.M. Anonymous @ 2/21/2002 7:06:05 PM #
Wait a minute, Handspring was never "the shining star of the handheld industry." I'm not saying they make bad product, but they're big contribution was the springboard slot. How many of those modules were actually useful? Truthfully.

The Treo's a bigger innovation than anything they've done to date.

RE: Sad...
I.M. Anonymous @ 2/21/2002 7:14:13 PM #
I think there's a very useful Massaging (not messaging) Springboard Module, that was really useful. and I hear that they are going to release the abforce Springboard Module soon too, isn't that cool, that's so the next generation of computer device. the consumer electronics device :)

RE: Sad...
I.M. Anonymous @ 2/21/2002 7:28:25 PM #
gimme a break!

you cannot sell Visors in Sonyland, japanese like high quality devices.

RE: Sad...
I.M. Anonymous @ 2/21/2002 7:48:12 PM #
I guess Sony was withering away when they decide top stop making their "Audrey-like Device"? Japan was an insignificant market for Handspring..that is why they are pulling out and focusing on South Asia where there sales are much more robust.

RE: Sad...
I.M. Anonymous @ 2/21/2002 7:50:46 PM #
There is a saying that say dont knock it before you try it. I used to poke fun at the Massager module until I started to see people posting on sites such as VisorCentral saying that the module is very useful to them and worth the money...go figure.

*******************************************************
I think there's a very useful Massaging (not messaging) Springboard Module, that was really useful. and I hear that they are going to release the abforce Springboard Module soon too, isn't that cool, that's so the next generation of computer device. the consumer electronics device :)

RE: Sad...
I.M. Anonymous @ 2/21/2002 8:04:48 PM #
Hey, Foo, I thought you were a PPC convert now?? Are you back in PalmOS land, or is Bill Gates paying you to trash PalmOS devices?

By the way, there are a lot of tax incentives for "not showing a profit" for the first several years of any business. Much of what would normally be "Profit" is reinvested into the company and used to make aquisitions. Handspring is doing fine financially, I am sure. And they still put out a good product in my opinion.
Doug

RE: Sad...
Foo @ 2/21/2002 8:45:09 PM #
"Hey, Foo, I thought you were a PPC convert now?? Are you back in PalmOS land, or is Bill Gates paying you to trash PalmOS devices?"

As if an Anonymous poster would even know who I am!

No, I am not a PPC convert. I currently use a Clie T615c. And how exactly am I "trashing" PalmOS devices? What positive spin could anyone possibly place on this story? Handspring is leaving the Japanese market because its products are not selling. Sorry, but I don't see an upside. Oops! There I go again.

RE: Sad...
I.M. Anonymous @ 2/21/2002 9:15:13 PM #
This is what suck about Palm OS devices. Starting at a low resolution, they can't reach all of their markets. Luckily Sony understands Japanese needs though...

Japanese Cell Phones too good.

I.M. Anonymous @ 2/21/2002 4:19:06 PM #
The basic cell phones that most Japanese use are probably already more advanced and smaller than the Treos, so what would be the point of trying to incorporate a Palm OS?

If you look at the Sony Palm OS prototype they were showing at PalmSource it looks like a cell phone with a camera built-in. I think such models are already available in Japan with the DOMOCO (sp) WEB information delivery service.

Sharp still sells lots of Zaurii in Japan. I wish they had not virtually abandoned the business here.

It is Treo in US and Europe or onto the scrape heap of history for Handspring now.

RE: Japanese Cell Phones too good.
Edward @ 2/21/2002 5:41:27 PM #
Hey I can buy a 200Mhz Zaurus in the UK for £350, with Opera, and a Media player and the normal PDA software. Thats the same price as a n770c.

RE: Japanese Cell Phones too good.
I.M. Anonymous @ 2/21/2002 7:05:17 PM #
I looked up the Zaurus on Google. Very interesting indeed! For anyone else who is also puzzled as to what it is:
http://www.sharp-usa.com/products/ModelLanding/0,1058,699,00.html

j888

RE: Japanese Cell Phones too good.
I.M. Anonymous @ 2/21/2002 7:06:18 PM #
Doh! Try this:
http://shorterlink.com/?GNH2TU

j888

RE: Japanese Cell Phones too good.
007 @ 2/21/2002 8:31:37 PM #
"Hey I can buy a 200Mhz Zaurus in the UK for £350, with Opera, and a Media player and the normal PDA software. Thats the same price as a n770c."

O.K., I'm not exactly sure how that relates to this story, but that Zaurus comes with: 1) no real third party software (and decent but little developer support when compared to Palm or even PPC); 2) a non-pocketable form factor; 3) a processor that isn't exactly known for being battery friendly (although the OS may help some in that area).

All-in-all, I for one think the Zaurus has got a maximum 2-year international shelf life. It just isn't going to appeal to nearly a wide enough audience outside of Japan.

RE: Japanese Cell Phones too good.
Edward @ 2/22/2002 3:44:08 AM #
Relate to the thread? Don't be silly. :)

The only way to buy one is to register as a developer. Still a nice linux device, but i'll stick to my n770c for now.

japanese cell phones are too good

I.M. Anonymous @ 2/21/2002 4:28:28 PM #
yes, japanese cell phones are too good.

one point my japanese friend made is that, when they ride the subway, the best is one handed operation (of a cell phone).. its annoying for them to have to put down their bag or let go of the handle to use the palm.

anyways, their cell phones do the same things palms do.. in color... wireless.. and higher res!

GSM

skoty @ 2/21/2002 4:57:13 PM #
I find it interesting that Japan has fallen into the same problem that the US has in terms of cell phone technology. With the rest of the world is standardized on GSM, the US has a mix of many different technologies: CDMA, TDMA, GSM... Is Japan the same way?

--------------
If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definately isn't for you.
RE: GSM
robrecht @ 2/21/2002 5:09:24 PM #
Great tagline!

Thanks, Robrecht
RE: GSM
I.M. Anonymous @ 2/21/2002 5:45:49 PM #
yes - but he/she may want to spellcheck their tagline before they continue to use it.

RE: GSM
I.M. Anonymous @ 2/21/2002 9:48:08 PM #
It seems that Japanese company and government choose incompatible techonology mainly to protect their market from foreign companies. The caos in US might come from the non-intervening policy of FCC?



RE: GSM
skoty @ 2/22/2002 1:34:43 PM #
So you're saying that Japan puposely didn't use the world-wide standard GSM technology to keep outsiders out? Seems pretty selfish IMO. I would say the "caos" in the US is beginning to be directed. I know of at least 2 GSM companies in the US, and with GPRS comming out (world-wide), I think more will see the light of international interoperability Except with Japan of course, they want to keep others out.

--------------
If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you.

''Regrets, I've had a few......''

sandbuck @ 2/21/2002 5:49:51 PM #
Da-da-da-da, blah, blah, blaaahh, blah

What a shame. This self-imposed though. They decided that PDA profit margins were not good enough for them. So they got greedy and decided to go wireless only. That was the first mistake. The second mistake was letting the public find out about their decision.

RE:
I.M. Anonymous @ 2/21/2002 6:59:48 PM #
They already say that they didn't mean what they said, they even took the spokes person to do a sanity check turns out that person is really crazy.

RE: ''Regrets, I've had a few......''
sandbuck @ 2/21/2002 10:32:36 PM #
Yeah, yeah..

Did we say "pull the Visor?"
What me meant was "we're all the wiser".

sheesh.

Japanese Products are not necessarily better!!!

peter167 @ 2/21/2002 10:13:56 PM #
It is a bit off topic, but it is quite important!

In Japan's local market, nothing is important other than whether it is from a Japan manufacturer. Not even BMWs sell well over there because the Japanese are really ethnic-centric (???). They won't buy products other than that made in Japan. No foreign companies have success over there because of how ethnic-centric they are.

Furthermore, the Japanese products are not high quality, indeed. But at least they pretend to be high quality. The employees in the Japanese firm are very ethnic-centric and protect their firm, even after layoffed (unlike U.S.) People will know some defects in some products because some insiders provide some info. If no one tells you so, you could never know.

For example, the number one (or two) dairy product in Japan hides the disgusting manufacturing process for years. The employees drink milk for free, of course, and the left-over (of course it is the milk in this case) will be poured back into the container so that it will be used for products later on.

Another example. Mitsubishi covered up the defects in their cars for years, until DaimlerChrysler has bought a stake in it. And who knows why these covered-up reports came out after Mitsu is being bought.

So once again, not because Japanese product are better so that they sell well in Japan. The Japanese will probably ditch MS's products in the future and decide to switch to Linux. Yes, Linux is antoher company but at least one Japanese firm can license it and put it under its brand name.

Lie is the future.

RE: Japanese Products are not necessarily better!!!
I.M. Anonymous @ 2/21/2002 10:34:31 PM #
You need to get out more often..
I've lived several years in Japan, and let me tell you that japanese products (not only electronics) are the best, not kidding. Foreign companies dont succeed there becouse they simply can't keep up with their high standards and obsession with quality. And most of the products there are "Made in Japan" the ones made in Malaysia, China, Singapore, Korea, Mexico are for us :(
..and no, i'm not japanese.

RE: Japanese Products are not necessarily better!!!
peter167 @ 2/21/2002 11:02:41 PM #
"I've lived several years in Japan, and let me tell you that japanese products (not only electronics) are the best, not kidding."

This is an usual statment for someone who love Japanese products (e.g. Sony) How could you prove that the Japanese products are the best? Only you, one of the embracers, will assume that.

If Japanese products are the best, why, do the two examples I gave out show that they aren't? IMHO, they are really big companies, and yet behave like this. Or are you trying to prove me I am lying for the two examples? I bet everyone (especially the one who can read Chinese) knows that, or at least someone they know knows that.


******************
Lie is the future.

RE: Japanese Products are not necessarily better!!!
mikeliu @ 2/21/2002 11:49:16 PM #
"Yes, Linux is antoher company but at least one Japanese firm can license it and put it under its brand name."

Haha....laughing my ass off....Linux is another company......license it.....

From such an obviously highly educated poster with absolutely no glaring anti-Japanese bias (a trait which can be common among us Chinese) you know this whole testimony has to be dead on.....

Or maybe it's really just that 160x160 screens make Asian fonts look like unreadable crap, and a higher resolution is truly necessary in Japan, as speculated in the article. That could be it too. And it's not like American companies haven't been caught hiding defects, or that Japanese cars WERE higher quality in the 80's than American cars........

"Lie is the future."

Huh?

RE: Japanese Products are not necessarily better!!!
peter167 @ 2/22/2002 12:15:37 AM #
I don't know what Linux is not just another company(organization) that any companies which are interested can license it and have the ability to add some modification with it. Don't tell me Redhat write their OS from the ground up, nor Mandrake or anyother LINUX OS company. If not so, which companies do the China government just bought Linux from? In this case, the Chinese government is also protecting its interests, but not as strong as the Japanese.

Mike, you still haven't explained my two examples yet, given the fact that it seems you does not belive Japanese has a tendency to hide its products' defects. I watched Dragonball a long time ago (8 years or so), perhaps just like you. I am a Chinese as well, but that should not have an impact on the reality itself.

Hopefully, you could be more open-minded. Not to perceive what someone tells you. My two examples are true with no facts or any intentional modifications in them. They are big companies as well.

P.S. Yes, U.S. has also so many absurd things, just like the collapse of Enron, if you are anti-U.S.

******************
Lie is the future.

RE: Japanese Products are not necessarily better!!!
I.M. Anonymous @ 2/22/2002 12:19:35 AM #
"Yes, Linux is antoher company but at least one Japanese firm can license it and put it under its brand name."

????
hey Peter167 Pan, think before you embarass yourself like this. stay cool.

duh!

RE: Japanese Products are not necessarily better!!!
Foo @ 2/22/2002 12:19:49 AM #
I'm afraid I will have to agree with Peter. As a culture, the Japanese are very racist. Often viewing outsiders as secondary. Several years ago, when the announcement was made that Ford would take a controlling stake in Mazda, customers walked out of the showrooms in disgust. The idea of an American company controlling a Japanese firm was simply appalling to these people. This is a common attitude. Japanese consumers shun foreign goods and brand names, while the government protects domestic companies from any outside competition. And Japanese firms based in the US reserve all of the key management positions to their own ethnic class. There is no room for Gaijin in Japanese culture.

Japan's attitude, at times, smells suspiciously familiar to "Deutschland über alles".


RE: Japanese Products are not necessarily better!!!
peter167 @ 2/22/2002 12:25:36 AM #
Or should I say distribute? Is this word better than license? Both are fee-based, and I don't see the difference.

******************
Lie is the future.
RE: Japanese Products are not necessarily better!!!
peter167 @ 2/22/2002 12:32:55 AM #
I apologize for that I forget whether it is fee-based or not.

http://www.kernel.org/

Anyway, that still has not proved your point Mike - what can be explained to those two examples?

******************
Lie is the future.

RE: Japanese Products are not necessarily better!!!
peter167 @ 2/22/2002 12:41:02 AM #
It is good to talk to people so that something wrong being deeply rooted in your mind can be corrected.

Maybe because there are too many companies for people to license their OS (e.g. Palm, Symbian), I have mixed up my mind with Linux.

But my mind definitely tells me that the two examples I stated are 100% right. No doubt about that.

******************
Lie is the future.

RE: Japanese Products are not necessarily better!!!
peter167 @ 2/22/2002 12:47:39 AM #
Foo,

Yes, you are right. In addition to that, Japan intentionally has let its yen to be weak so that their exports can be much more competitive than any others.

******************
Lie is the future.

RE: Japanese Products are not necessarily better!!!
I.M. Anonymous @ 2/22/2002 1:53:27 AM #
1) Linux is not even a company, Linux is an Operating system kernel written by people all over the world
2) of course Japanese products are not necessarily better, christ. But I must say that their consumers electronics products are on the top of the world.
3) Enron ... I better don't comment on this, otherwise Mr Dick might come to palminfocenter :)
4) hehe what's wrong with racist !? I really don't see the problem, I think everyone got their freedom to dislike things don't they ?
5) Which company doesn't hide their products defects, for christ sake Enron has been hiding their problems till like they file for bankruptcy.
6) I am Chinese too, and guess what I've been watching dragonball for more than 15 years already. Actually I stopped watching it for about 5-7 years, until I came to the US I switched on the TV and saw the Dragonball that was played 15 years ago in Hong Kong, O well it's always nice to look back in your childhood.
7) Hopefully you can be more open minded. Not to perceive what you think is true, be more subjective, look at the big picture.

Anyways my roommates attitude (they are not Japanese, Chinese, they are Americans) towards FORD is "What ?? I'll never buy a Ford." And for some odd reasons they all like to look at Nissan, Toyota, BMW and Benz (LoL like they can really afford it).

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