There's surely no hope left for Palm now, is there?

[FridgeMagnet]

I hear you Sunray - and they are impressive but I have had a go on an iphone and - so far - I just cannot get a similar useability and speed out of a virtual keyboard when compared to my centro

and I do a lot of writing on mine...sms, emails, lots and lots of creative jottings etc

I rate the iPhone/iTouch at the moment and I am a seriously dedicated Palm user - I've been using them since the Tungsten pretty much non-stop. Only, they're just pissing me off now. Palm abandoned OS X as a platform, as I said earlier, and things just don't sync; in addition, the TX that I have at the moment has issues, even after having it fixed once, and there just isn't the developer interest in the Palm OS platform any more.

I might be prepared to tinker with the OS on a netbook - I have with my Eee - but with a mobile device the whole point is that I can just whip it out and it works. I can whip out my iTouch at any time and do my tasks and calendar better than I could on the Palm, with better syncing, and I can also listen to music and watch episodes of the Wire on the tube.

Believe me, when a mobile device that's meant to be making your life easier actually ends up munging your task lists and calendars, you start to think "well fuck you". Tasks and calendars are things you really need to be very sure are not going to be fucked up.

(The on-screen keyboard is fine by the way - it takes a few days to properly get used to it, but now I can enter text far faster than I could on the Palm, and I have big fat fingers too.)

 

[Piers Gibbon]

my first centro went titsup...had to buy another one

lazily didn't return broken one (unresponsive, no restarts or keys worked)

and it has now started working again. Weird. Don't know if it's reliable enough to hand it over to my girlfriend

 

[Sunray]

With the iPhone keyboard you have to remember to touch your finger over the entire key. Most people I've seen start off by trying to touch just the bit just the key but its not designed like that. You quickly realise that you have to press the entire area. Being multi touch, it can work out which key was the most likely pressed by % area covered.

 

[Kid_Eternity]

And so the experts start to predict Palm's demise:

“Could this holiday season mark the beginning of the end for Palm?” he asks. “We posit that this could well be the case. We believe that Nova-powered handsets will not start selling to consumers until the second half of 2009, and a number of key smartphones are launching this holiday season with end-user prices from $100 to $200. Why would anybody buy a Centro when you can get a smartphone like the Bold for free, or a Samsung Eternity for $150. You think the competition is tough today? Wait until next year when HTC brings out new Android handsets.”

Why indeed...

And this says it all really:

And he adds that there simply may not be room for yet another mobile phone OS. “Palm has the right strategy,” he writes. “Unfortunately, we believe the company is about two years too late, and Nova is likely irrelevant against Apple’s mobile OS X, Android S60 and Mobile Windows. Is there room for yet another mobile OS? Will developers take resources away from Apple or Android to work on Nova? We do not believe so.”

 

[g force]

Seems to hit the nail on the head. It's taken too long to get stuff to market and in the meantime the competition has accelerated.

 

[JWH]

As a 650/680/750w user: the absence of wifi throughout has been a major disadvantage for the home/domestic user for sure, while for multiusers (as I understand it), the biggest problem has been GoodLink. GoodLink is the major corporate email platform for Treos, and unfortunately it's complete crap - buggy as balls on the Palm platform. The windows mobile platform couldn't bring it back, either - it's just the usual microsoft crap.

My amateur crystal ball prediction is that private users will go for the iPhone or even sidekick-type phones because they're better at entertainment and web browsing, and firms will go for RIM products because they are better at the core app: email.

 

[editor]

With the iPhone keyboard you have to remember to touch your finger over the entire key. Most people I've seen start off by trying to touch just the bit just the key but its not designed like that. You quickly realise that you have to press the entire area. Being multi touch, it can work out which key was the most likely pressed by % area covered.

I've spent ages trying to type on various iPhones and for me, it's awful to use. I can see it might be fine for typing out short texxt6 messages, but for anything past that, it's a waste of time.

Meanwhile, things keep on getting worse for Palm.

Palm Inc. today released its preliminary results for its second quarter of fiscal year 2009, which ended Nov. 28, 2008. In short, the news is pretty brutal with Palm's total revenue experiencing a massive contraction during the past couple of months. Revenues dropped nearly 45% from the same quarter last year, and could see a decline of as much as 48% from the previous quarter. Palm places the blame on its "maturing" product line and "unprecedented dynamics in the global markets" given the current economic meltdown. The company vows to reign in costs even further and goes on to detail some of its latest cost-savings initiatives in the accompanying press release.

Here's a bit of the press release:

Palm Reports Preliminary Q2 FY09 Results

Palm Implements Programs To Reduce Operating Expenses by 20% by Q4 FY09

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Dec 01, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) - Palm, Inc. (NASDAQ: PALM) today reported preliminary results for its second quarter of fiscal year 2009, which ended Nov. 28, 2008.

The company announced that it expects to record revenues for Q2 fiscal year 2009 in the range of $190 million to $195 million. The revenue decline vs. the company's Q1 fiscal year 2009 and Q2 fiscal year 2008 is a result of reduced demand for maturing smartphone and handheld products. The company stated that while it had expected these factors to pressure revenue in its November 2008 and February 2009 quarters, the difficult economic environment has greatly intensified the negative impact on product sales.

 

[g force]

Ouch....get your new stuff to market then you numpties otherwise it's soon going to be too late!!

 

[Sunray]

At 190 million dollars turn over cannot be ignored, so they must be doing something right.

I still think their fate is entirely in their own hands, its a new and evolving market the Phone/PDA. The iPhone has thrown a grenade in there, but it can still be taken on if the company has a good product.

If it doesn't, then yes, I've no idea where they are headed other than to the wall.

 

[Private Storm]

There's a chance a new Palm OS is in the making...

http://www.moconews.net/entry/419-palm-may-be-close-to-launching-new-os-in-january/

 

[Lazy Llama]

Engadget have an image of the invite to see something "New" at CES - http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/10/palms-new-ness-coming-to-ces/

 

[Kid_Eternity]

As the Ed said on another thread this really is their last chance and they've got to pull some amazing rabbit out of the hat if they're still to be around in a years time (which I doubt).

 

[editor]

They will indeed be introducing their new Nova OS in January.

Rubinstein's efforts are about to bear their first fruits. On Jan. 8 at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Palm is due to unveil the long-awaited operating system, code-named Nova, as well as the first of a family of products that will run on it. While Palm has protected its plans with Apple-like secrecy, Rubinstein and others say the goal is to create products that bridge the gap between Research In Motion's (RIMM) BlackBerry devices, oriented to work and e-mail, and Apple's iPhone, oriented to fun. "People's work and personal lives are melding," Colligan says, adding that Palm is aiming for the "fat middle of the market."

Palm needs to hit its mark. The company has lost share and its stock price has plummeted 80% since Rubinstein joined. With about six quarters of cash currently in the bank, Palm's last best hope may be Nova, to be released by mid-2009. Cash-strapped carriers are loath to take on the cost of supporting another platform and software developers are busy building software for other devices, including the iPhone, BlackBerry, and phones that use Google's (GOOG) Android software. "If they can't show me a large, active audience, I'm not going to be interested," says Jeff Holden, CEO of Web 2.0 company Pelago, maker of a social networking tool for the iPhone. "At this point in the game, you're toast unless you have something completely unbelievable."

But there's some hope:

Palm insiders are optimistic. "I'm fundamentally convinced we're onto something huge," says Mike Bell, a 16-year Apple engineering star who joined Palm last year. "Some of the stuff we're working on here is mind-blowing—better than anything I've seen before."

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/dec2008/tc20081213_356133.htm

 

[Kid_Eternity]

Mind blowing? Hmmm...I reserve judgment until I see the thing...

 

[paolo]

Sounds interesting - some proper OS development rather than tired-OS-repackaged, which seems to be what's going in the market right now, apart from the G1.

 

[Sunray]

Well, its in a few weeks, so the proof is in the pudding.

 

[FridgeMagnet]

You'll excuse me if I believe that Palm are actually going to release a new OS when I see it running. Christ knows how many times and over what period I've heard that.

 

[editor]

Well, there must be something going on at Palm: the former chief accounting officer at eBay has just been appointed CFO at the company. They've also just jettisoned the guy who created the excellent Chattermail client.

 

[Kid_Eternity]

Not sure how getting rid of the guy that created the excellent Chattermail is a good thing but the hype machine wheels certainly are turning now...

 

[Kid_Eternity]

Palm have bundled all their apps together on a mobile friendly app store:

Things are happening for Palm with news of its upcoming OS and the first of a family of new devices. Of course, how could its compete with the iPhone and BlackBerry without its very own mobile app store? After partnering with PocketGear, Palm now has an app store with over 5,000 apps, 1,000 of which are free, for its own OS (Palm devices with Windows Mobile has its own thing, of course). The variety of apps doesn’t look too shabby as Palm tries to keep up with the big boys and we’re hoping that the app store integration into the upcoming Nova OS will be seamless. Give us a killer device, an intuitive and attractive OS, top it off with the app store and tons of apps and you just might be a keeper, Palm. Don’t let us down!

It keeps being called an download-able app but it's really just a link to a mobile site (rather than a proper d/l app like the Facebook one). It's a bit slow but has tons of stuff on there. Looks like Palm are getting a bit more serious about it's business...

 

[editor]

At least it looks like that hideous phone isn't the new Palm handset.

http://www.pocketables.net/2008/12/mystery-t-swive.html

 

[Kid_Eternity]

Thank fuck for that!

 

[g force]

Indeed...there may be hope....

 

[paolo]

Even more ugly than I imagined it, hearing the description on the engadget podcast. And a trackpad FFS! All so very wrong.

Is it some kind of mock up, or is there a manufacturer actually going to make it?

 

[editor]

Hooray! Note Studio - a superb program that was one of the reasons I stuck with Palm - is working again after I did a total uninstall/install.

 

[editor]

Two articles about Palm's demise:

Perception is Reality. Why Palm OS software sales have plummeted in 2008

Palm OS software sales are dead. Most developers will tell you that at the end of 2007 their sales dropped below sustainable levels, even below levels where support is justified. Some developers responded by offering existing titles for free with no support, others have closed completely, while many are looking to port quickly to newer platforms with greater potential. However, according to the buzz online, Palm OS has been slowly dying for three or more years now. And Centro sales have hit one million. So why the sudden sharp drop in sales? Is it because Palm Gear suddenly shut its doors, giving the false impression that Palm is through? Maybe Centro users, new to Palm, are too cheap to add software? Or Palm hasn’t informed them of its benefit or existence? It could be the uncertainty of the new OS (Nova)? Or maybe it’s just because news has been quiet? Any publicity is good publicity. This post explores some of the possible reasons, and a poll follows, to better understand the perception of why sales have tanked.
…
​

Summary of Palm OS Software Sales Poll

We recently conducted a poll as to why Palm software sales were down drastically in 2007. Here’s a synopsis and editorial of the results:
The recent poll we conducted resulted in a two-way tie, with two very close second place finishers. Two additional third place selections followed very closely behind, nearly resulting in a six-way tie. These results are not surprising–too many factors have played a part in this story. I suspect it was difficult for one to choose just one main factor. All the results tell a story of how things went awry with the Palm OS.
After all the RIP’s issued over the years about Palm OS dying, this time with all the circumstances in play, we may actually see it happen. Those of us who are die hard fans really hope that a miracle happens, but this is as bleak as it comes.
​

 

[Kid_Eternity]

Hooray! Note Studio - a superb program that was one of the reasons I stuck with Palm - is working again after I did a total uninstall/install.

Nice! I found after my recent hassle with O2 and their net settings that a delete and re-install seems to be the key to sorting things with the Centro...

 

[Kid_Eternity]

Apparently some carriers that have seen the new hardware/os are getting excited:

but the big news is unquestionably Nova, which will be released on a range of all-new hardware starting in the first half of '09. It claims that carriers who've seen the platform are "unversally excited" about it, which we suppose is a good start -- but the real trick, of course, is to get consumers universally excited about it as well.

 

[editor]

And there's a ton of wonga being invested too:

Palm, Inc. (NASDAQALM) today announced that Elevation Partners has agreed to make an additional $100 million equity investment in Palm. Under a definitive agreement reached today, Elevation will increase its investment in Palm by acquiring newly issued Series C preferred stock that is convertible into Palm common stock at a price of $3.25 per share, a 31 percent premium to the closing price of Palm common stock on Dec. 19, 2008. The Series C preferred stock carries a 0% dividend rate. Elevation will also receive warrants to acquire 7 million shares of Palm common stock at the same price. Prior to March 31, 2009, Palm may elect to cause Elevation to sell up to $49 million of this new investment to other investors on the same or better terms than on which Elevation invested.

"The additional capital from Elevation Partners will enable us to put added momentum behind the new product introductions scheduled for 2009 and will provide us with enhanced stability in unsettled economic times," said Ed Colligan, president and chief executive officer of Palm, Inc. "Elevation has been a great partner to Palm, and we appreciate their continued confidence and support."

"We believe that Palm is in a position to transform the cell phone industry, and we are pleased to have the opportunity to make this additional investment in the company. Palm has an industry-leading team and an exciting, differentiated product roadmap. We are proud to be associated with the company and look forward to great things from Palm in 2009 and beyond," stated Roger McNamee, co-founder of Elevation Partners.

http://palmaddict.typepad.com/palmaddicts/2008/12/palm-secures-ad.html

 

[Kid_Eternity]

Oh god this getting a bit hyped, they're going to promo a new Foleo aren't they?