[maxintosh]

PalmSource's recent decision to drop Mac support may not be as simple as it sounds. There has been a lot of talk about *why* they'd do this, other than economics, and it may be because Apple has warned them they're coming out with their own competing product.

Recently, Apple has been advertising for a "video iPod" developer. It looks like a new Apple handheld *is* in the works; its main function will be a video player, but it will also function like a PDA. It will be a bit larger than Palms on the market today and will have a unique form factor; also, it will have a built-in hard-drive ala iPod.

http://www.brighthand.com/article/Ru...Apple_Handheld

Hopefully this will all come true soon.

[Maflynn]

How do you conclude that Apple will produce a pda from wanting to hire an ipod video developer. Plus did they really say that they're looking for a "video ipod" developer or was it on some rumor site. I kind of doubt that apple would leak a product like that.

Now a video ipod would be cool
A pda from apple would be cool.

Do I think there's enough market demand for the video ipod probably

What about an apple pda, I'm not sure the pda market segment hasn't really grown and introducing a new pda to a stagnant/shrinking and crowded market segment with limited apeal would not seem a wise business move. PPC and Palm and fairly intrenched.

Mike

[-Q-]

I don't think you can draw a PDA conclusion from that post. I also think you can't say Palm is dropping support for their Mac software b/c of an impending Apple PDA. It's more likely that Palm dropped support b/c of the ease of iSync and the currently existing apps iCal and Address Book.

There is no money to be made in PDAs for Apple.*

*I reserve the right to change my opinion if Apple produces a PDA on the level of the iPod (in terms of groundbreaking features and ease-of-use).

[torifile]

I disregarded that article the moment I saw that it was citing John Manzionne as a source. He's a fraud plain and simple.

[kovacs]

Pigs will fly before we will see a video iPod....

[scaught]

Originally posted by torifile:
I disregarded that article the moment I saw that it was citing John Manzionne as a source. He's a fraud plain and simple.

beat me to the punch.

seriously. that guy is the mac community punching bag. and with good reason.

[k2director]

I can't see Apple simply doing a PDA. That won't happen, because pure PDAs are too common, and Apple can't do enough to really stand out. Plus, I think Apple rightfully wonders how useful pure PDAs are to most people.

But a PDA/Phone built around a 4 gig hard drive and wireless networking would be a very different kind of product.

Either via fast Bluetooth or Airport built in, imagine being able to keep your photos, and compressed videos on the phone (not to mention music), and display/share them with another computer incredibly easily, or send them to a TV that's equipped with a little base station (which I bet Apple is working on anyway). Plus, very smooth synching of address book, web browser, calendar and email.

Apple has all the components in place to make a seriously KICK ASS pda/phone. And combo PDA/phones is where the industry is headed. And as anyone who uses a current cutting edge phone like the Sony P900 can tell you, we're STILL very far away from having a device that really works smoothly.

I hope Apple does it...

[Macola]

Just curious...am I the only one who doesn't like PDA/cell phone combos? I'd hate to lug around a Smartphone on my belt, and I wouldn't want to work on a spreadsheet on my cell phone screen. I guess if you use a PDA only for contact management, they're okay.

[Rev-O]

Originally posted by Macola:
Just curious...am I the only one who doesn't like PDA/cell phone combos? I'd hate to lug around a Smartphone on my belt, and I wouldn't want to work on a spreadsheet on my cell phone screen. I guess if you use a PDA only for contact management, they're okay.

PDA/Cell phones

Hope Apple doesn't enter the cell phone market. It is way to transient, with today's spiftacular phone being tomorrow's throw away pos. Apple s'posedly builds quality and state o' the art stuff, and charges accordingly. The throw away nature of cell phones (and the high obsolecence factor of pda/cell phones) are gonna be a losing proposition, imho.

Maybe not, but I ain't buying one.

[Cadaver]

If (big if) there is to be an Apple branded PDA, there better be a slim/light model for those of us who prefer highly portable units.
I'm really liking my new HP iPAQ h4100. Less than 5 oz. with both integrated WiFi and bluetooth, SD card slot, 400MHz Xscale processor, removable/replaceable main battery, lithium backup battery for RAM, stereo headphone jack (though I have an iPod for music anyway), and only the slightest bit thicker (on the order of 3 mm) than a Palm V.
Its really an engineering wonder. Basically, everything a PDA should be, crammed in to a very slender & light package.

[Krypton]

Originally posted by kovacs:
Pigs will fly before we will see a video iPod....

The did post a request for someone with 'video format experience' for the iPod team, but it doesn't necessarily mean that this will come to fruition, or that it has anything to do with PDA, music or video.

[Casper Crane]

based on the success of the iPod alone, I believe a more robust PDA-centric version of the iPod could take off.

since there are no PDAs with hard drives on the market, all they have to do is add a nice color screen, bluetooth, and a more advance OS to the current device and you've got a $600 PowerPod.

forget the phone. that won't happen for years if ever. i would love to be proven wrong however.

[new newton]

Do some people realize that a PDA needs a data input method? The iPod is great at what it does, but it's nothing like a PDA--nor could it ever be. I'm amazed at how people just don't get it. The iPod is about simplicity and being outstanding at what it does. The concept of a PDA is diametrically opposed to the concept of an iPod. One is all about inputing and manipulating data, and the other is all about simplicity and outputting data.

[GORDYmac]

When did Apple advertise for a "video iPod" developer? Does Apple now own Pixo?

[rtdunham]

Originally posted by Macola:
Just curious...am I the only one who doesn't like PDA/cell phone combos? I'd hate to lug around a Smartphone on my belt, and I wouldn't want to work on a spreadsheet on my cell phone screen. I guess if you use a PDA only for contact management, they're okay.

I use a Treo 300 and for my purposes, yeah, it's far superior to lugging separately a cellphone and a pda. Just some sample benefits:
1) If the phone loses its memory I don't have to re-enter all my speed dial numbers, I sync it and all its features return--the 50 speed dial numbers, back in their same locations on the treo's very efficient screens;
2) if i need a number that's not in the speed dial (and this often happens) I can refer to the contact manager (apple address book) that's IN the treo, sync'd automatically by iSync, and I can find any of my 800 other contacts--and i don't have to enter their numbers, just click on the number that shows up in their listing--AND all the rest of my contact information about them is there too, on the Treo screen--wife's name? yep. secretary's? yep. address? yep. all my notes? yep.
3) my calendar's on the phone too, along with alarms, everything that's on my calendar on my desktop (in this instance, apple's iCal seems to suck so i'm sticking with NOW Up-to-Date, but it syncs with its own conduit to the Treo--all the syncing is initiated with a single button-press on the cradle.
4) with the treo's thumbpad--it really IS fast and easy to use--i can INPUT calendar items or phone numbers when i'm in the field, too--and they are sync'd to my desktop the next time i drop the treo in the sync'g cradle and press the button.
5) and of course the phone can do email; can do rudimentary web work, etc.

What's not to like about that? Yes, it could all be accomplished by carrying two diff devices. But that's a good thing? And the integration makes it more effective than that burden would be anyway. I think sometimes people don't see the value of something new just because it's foreign to them, or because they haven't tried it. It's natural to have an uneasiness about something new, but geez...

yeah, I'm a fan.

terry dunham
st pete florida

[ryju]

Originally posted by kovacs:
Pigs will fly before we will see a video iPod....

This is true.

[-Q-]

Originally posted by Macola:
Just curious...am I the only one who doesn't like PDA/cell phone combos? I'd hate to lug around a Smartphone on my belt, and I wouldn't want to work on a spreadsheet on my cell phone screen. I guess if you use a PDA only for contact management, they're okay.

I love the concept. I'm over carrying around 3 devices (PDA, phone, iPod) and as soon as T-mobile starts selling the Treo 600, I'm all over it. And if i'm working on a spreadsheet, I'm using my laptop.

[k2director]

Comba phones/PDAs are incredibly useful for lots o' peoepl. If you insist on a tiny phone, they're not for you, but a Sony P900 is pretty small and thin as it is, and supports handwriting recognition, email, useable web surfing, games, camera, notes, to dos, calendar, voice recording, etc. etc. Carrying all that in one pocket is a huge plus.

But adding a tiny hard drive to that, along with Apple's design sense and integration with its other apps, would take a combo device to a whole new level.

[Macola]

Originally posted by rtdunham:

What's not to like about that? Yes, it could all be accomplished by carrying two diff devices. But that's a good thing? And the integration makes it more effective than that burden would be anyway. I think sometimes people don't see the value of something new just because it's foreign to them, or because they haven't tried it. It's natural to have an uneasiness about something new, but geez...

Don't jump to conclusions about "being uneasy about something new"...your needs are way different from mine. If a combo works for you, fine. It doesn't for me.

[new newton]

I've used a Kyocera 6035 for the past 2 years. It's a Palm phone. It was better than carrying around a Palm and a phone that didn't talk together. Bluetooth changes everything. My 6035 isn't the best phone in the world, and it's a compromise as a PDA as well. That's not its fault--it's the nature of combinations. The advantage is you don't need to synchronize two separate devices or carry two separate devices. With Bluetooth, that has all changed. A Palm can work with a phone on your belt, which you can use without even touching it.

Know what the biggest compromise with combination devices will be in the future? Size. Phones keep getting smaller, and PDA screens are finally becoming larger again. Have you held the Treo 600? It's too damn tiny to be an effective PDA. Those little pinheads for keyboard keys aren't usable unless you're making an effort.

Integration is the key, and Bluetooth provides it without creating compromised devices.

[Casper Crane]

Originally posted by new newton:
My 6035 isn't the best phone in the world, and it's a compromise as a PDA as well. That's not its fault--it's the nature of combinations. The advantage is you don't need to synchronize two separate devices or carry two separate devices.

Have you held the Treo 600? It's too damn tiny to be an effective PDA. Those little pinheads for keyboard keys aren't usable unless you're making an effort.

No, it is the 6035's fault. That device is a good first attempt, but it's a lousy phone and a lousy palm.

The Treo 600 may have tiny keys and a low-res screen, but it is a real Palm and a real phone. My only complaint about the thing is that it crashes a little too often. Maybe the GSM version is more stable.

I agree about the P900. It's the best compromise of features and size. Though the Treo is not significantly bigger, it is heavier and goofier. Like you said, put a 4 GB hard drive in the P900, and it's a killer. And it will finally be worth the asking price!

[new newton]

The 6035 is a fine PDA. It's basically a Palm Vx. There aren't any compromises there. It's a fine, fully featured phone. Perhaps you didn't read what I wrote, because your knock on the Treo 600 was it's small low-res screen and tiny keyboard. If you do read what I wrote, you'll see that it's the form factor that is compromised. That's why there won't be an "ideal" combo device anytime soon. Melding the two inherently involves compromise.