[analogue SPRINKLES]

We all know it's coming...

[Laminar]

Adobe.

[Dork.]

What does Palm have left that's worth anything? Maybe a few patents, which is why I'm voting Google, so Google/HTC has more ammo against Apple.

[Wiskedjak]

I'd say RIM

[Eug]

No mention of Apple?

[OldManMac]

Why would anyone buy them? They have nothing of value. Maybe Jon Rubenstein shouldn't have left Apple.

[Salty]

Maybe Apple would want Rubby back? Wait... probably not. Could almost see Jobs buying just to fire him at this point. Palm has some very talented employees, several of them being ex-Apple ones. I could see that being valuable to Microsoft, and it's not like their Mobile division couldn't use some new blood. HTC doesn't have the cash to go around buying major competitors, Sony is notorious for not caring as much as they should about software, which is all Palm's got going for it, Nokia same story not to mention they're already betting their farm on Symbian. Samsung's the same story as Sony. Google might buy them just for the patents, but I imagine they already have their own war chest built up.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Originally Posted by OldManMac 

Why would anyone buy them? They have nothing of value. Maybe Jon Rubenstein shouldn't have left Apple.

They do have the best phone UI next to the iPhone (as it is 90% a good copy of it) which lots of other companies would love to have. Android is an inconsistent bland mess, Sony tries to stand out with skins on top of any OS they use, same goes for HTC. They could use Palm for sure.

All that aside Palm does have 15 years worth of a nice patent portfolio which somebody is going to buy no matter what. No way is that all going to dissolve with the company.

I think it will be google or HTC as when they get ownership of Palms IP's they have a case to defend themselves against Apples lawsuit or perhaps even counter sue.

And I didn't include Apple for obvious reason as we all know that would never happen.

[Eug]

BTW, some of the financial analysts are already giving PALM a target price of $0. Ouch.

In the meantime, I just saw some Palm product placement in Flash Forward. It seemed rather odd, given the serious trouble Palm's in, but maybe that deal was made a long time ago.

P.S. I don't if it's just me, but I'm getting a bit sick of the Apple product placements too. They're EVERYWHERE now. And it's not just labs using Macs or whatever. Apple is going out its way to show iPhones with its scroll navigation and video playback functionality, etc. These TV shows are looking more and more like Apple commercials. In the past it was more subtle.

I have to admit though the worst so far has been Sirius radio and Fringe, and Nokia in Star Trek. Then of course there was Dodge sponsorship of Terminator: SCC episodes.

[Laminar]

The Office has gone out of its way to incorporate iPods into its storylines.

[Wiskedjak]

Originally Posted by Eug 

I have to admit though the worst so far has been Sirius radio and Fringe, and Nokia in Star Trek. Then of course there was Dodge sponsorship of Terminator: SCC episodes.

My favorite (worst I've ever seen) was in the season premier for one of later seasons of Alias. Jennifer Garner and her partner were chasing a baddie on foot in a parkade. The baddie jumps in a car a takes off. The good guys need to commandeer a vehicle to keep up the chase. Garner points to a vehicle and shouts to her partner "The F-150!". There, past several other suitable vehicles, sits a shining black Ford F-150. I half expected her to add something like "with its impressive power, payload, fuel efficiency and innovation". They proceed to chase the baddie out of the parkade, hitting other vehicles along the way, with nary a scratch to the F-150.

In another scene of the same episode, Garner is in a Ford Focus hatchback, once again chasing a baddie. In one part of the chase, the Focus powerslides around a corner and zooms in tight on the "Focus SVT" tag on the rear of the car.

[mduell]

I doubt any western company will buy them... maybe one of the Chinese ODMs.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Originally Posted by Laminar 

The Office has gone out of its way to incorporate iPods into its storylines.

I've been noticing that too. They also mention Pixar, Mac's and iPhones a lot.

Even stranger I remember that in a couple Apple Keynotes Steve showed clips of the office as either quicktime samples or iTMS.

They must have some secret marketing partnership.

[Laminar]

Originally Posted by Wiskedjak 

My favorite (worst I've ever seen) was in the season premier for one of later seasons of Alias. Jennifer Garner and her partner were chasing a baddie on foot in a parkade. The baddie jumps in a car a takes off. The good guys need to commandeer a vehicle to keep up the chase. Garner points to a vehicle and shouts to her partner "The F-150!". There, past several other suitable vehicles, sits a shining black Ford F-150. I half expected her to add something like "with its impressive power, payload, fuel efficiency and innovation". They proceed to chase the baddie out of the parkade, hitting other vehicles along the way, with nary a scratch to the F-150.

In another scene of the same episode, Garner is in a Ford Focus hatchback, once again chasing a baddie. In one part of the chase, the Focus powerslides around a corner and zooms in tight on the "Focus SVT" tag on the rear of the car.

The new Knight Rider is even worse.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

So what is Palm worth if someone wanted to buy? The stock is at $0 so it can't be much.

[imitchellg5]

Palm has a lot of IP that they own, they could be worth something, but I don't think they'll be sold. The company has a good product in the Pre, but they've got to get rid of crap like the Pixi and their horrid adverts.

[Eug]

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

So what is Palm worth if someone wanted to buy? The stock is at $0 so it can't be much.

Actually, technically the stock is still at $3.97, which puts their market capitalization at 2/3rds of a billion dollars. ie. Not chump change.

It's just that some of the analysts are saying it's gonna go bankrupt soon, so it may as well be worth $0.

BTW, Palm stock was at $13.58 just a couple of months ago, so it's lost 70% of it's value just in the last couple of months. Oh and it was $17-18ish in Sept.

Originally Posted by Laminar 

The new Knight Rider is even worse.

I didn't even know that was still on. I watched like 1.5 episodes and that was enough. I think they took it off the local channels actually.

[Sarc]

I think they still have the rights for BeOS, the other contender for being the Mac OS X foundation.
It would be such irony if Apple bought them.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Originally Posted by Eug 

It's just that some of the analysts are saying it's gonna go bankrupt soon, so it may as well be worth $0.

They have over HALF of their Pre/pixi inventory from last quarter UNSOLD sitting in stores. That is a major major problem.

Even if they came out with 2 killer killer phones tomorrow they still have to sell all the old ones at a major discount.

Since their current phones are $99 &$199 they would have to cut old old inventory in half and still only sell the killer new phone for $199 and stand up against all those other companies with the same.

They are toast at this point. Really nothing can save them.

[Spheric Harlot]

That's really sad.

I'd hate to see them go - even though to my mind, they really disqualified themselves over faking Apple's vendor ID in order to illegally access iTunes syncing. I mean seriously, what kind of juvenile shit is that?

I just couldn't take them serious as a company after that point.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot 

That's really sad.

I'd hate to see them go - even though to my mind, they really disqualified themselves over faking Apple's vendor ID in order to illegally access iTunes syncing. I mean seriously, what kind of juvenile shit is that?

THAT'S what gets you?

How about the fact that the first Palm Pilot was a cheap copy of the first Newton. Most of the employee's who made it were from Apple. They then went and formed Handspring who made the first small and sexy PDA. After that they made the first Palm based cellphone the Treo.

Palm for a short time also split up its software and hardware devision and then re-intergrated them cuz it didn't work.

They had no proper cellphone so bought Handspring and the treo.

They bought the Be OS and were working on on Palm OS 6 for about 8 years with no results. The OS was so far behind that Palm actually started making Palm phone running Windows. That is incredibly pathetic. Just as sad is they were still selling PDA's a year ago.

Then they brought in Rubenstein from Apple who said he saw all the upcoming hardware and Palm OS6 and had them scrap it all and start from scratch. By PURE coincidence this is all after the iPhone came out so he had most of his work done for him.

The WebOS is nice buts its only REAL advantage is that it has a nice UI for multitasking (which they stole from Safari on the iPhone) the hardware was nothing special especially those horrible keyboards.

Goodbye Palm, you had a million chances to get your acts in gear for the last 11 years but
are too damn slow and old fashioned.

[imitchellg5]

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

How about the fact that the first Palm Pilot was a cheap copy of the first Newton. Most of the employee's who made it were from Apple. They then went and formed Handspring who made the first small and sexy PDA. After that they made the first Palm based cellphone the Treo.

You do know that companies in this market do that ALL the time, right? Especially Apple.

The WebOS is nice buts its only REAL advantage is that it has a nice UI for multitasking (which they stole from Safari on the iPhone) the hardware was nothing special especially those horrible keyboards.

webOS has a lot of advantages. I'm not sure how it stole multitasking from the iPhone, since the iPhone doesn't multitask, but whatever. You can do some pretty powerful stuff with webOS. I love how you can pause a game, change cards to answer a text or open another app and go back and resume your game without interruption. webOS also has the only true 3D gaming for mobile platforms right now, with some big devs behind it. Graphically, the Pre is very powerful. It's not all doom and gloom.

Goodbye Palm, you had a million chances to get your acts in gear for the last 11 years but
are too damn slow and old fashioned.

I think that they are certainly hurting, but calling them dead is getting ahead of yourself.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Originally Posted by imitchellg5 

You do know that companies in this market do that ALL the time, right? Especially Apple.

Oh ya. Like what?

Originally Posted by imitchellg5 

I'm not sure how it stole multitasking from the iPhone, since the iPhone doesn't multitask, but whatever.

The typical iPhone is running or doing about 5-10 things in the background of any moment. It multitasks like mad. What you mean is it doesn't offer a UI to manage multitasking. I clearly said they stole the safari card UI and applied it to the multitasking UI of the Pre.



For the record I am glad the iPhone does NOT do this. I do not want a UI for multitasking. I want it all done seamlessly with no task manager. 90% of users will not understand it and the concept behind closing them to save memory.

Originally Posted by imitchellg5 

You can do some pretty powerful stuff with webOS. I love how you can pause a game, change cards to answer a text or open another app and go back and resume your game without interruption.

ZOMG that's amazing! Wait come to think of it my iphone does the same and I bet you I can do it faster and in less actions too. Just about ever game has an instant save when you quit and a relaunch puts you right back.

But I guess you also love the battery drain.

Originally Posted by imitchellg5 

webOS also has the only true 3D gaming for mobile platforms right now, with some big devs behind it. Graphically, the Pre is very powerful. It's not all doom and gloom.

It's not all sunshine and roses either. They stand ZERO chance in games. Zero.
The iPod/iPhone are the leader in games with very powerful hardware and the app store to back it up with tons of titles from big companies. The iPad is going to be a whole new world.

MS is marketing Windows 7 phones and Zunes to be game platforms now with Xbox behind them.

Oh and then there is Palm... the 2 handset manufacturer with tons of old inventory and the least amount of Apps of any app store. You're right, they are still a strong contender

Originally Posted by imitchellg5 

I think that they are certainly hurting, but calling them dead is getting ahead of yourself.

You're right again, I'm jumping 4 months ahead

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

THAT'S what gets you?

Yeah. That's what gets me.

I really couldn't care less anymore about who "stole" what where, when, and why. Let their ****ing patent lawyers sort that crap out.

"OMG we were first" died around the time Vista came out.

Either a product stands on its own merit, or it's worthless.

The Palm Pre and its webOS are great products, and real competition is an excellent thing to light a fire under Apple's ass and drive them to further excellence.

I want the best products, and I want to be able to choose (or recommend) from a variety of excellent devices, rather than settle for the least annoying one.

Sleazebag tactics, however, *do* annoy me, as does completely nincompoop assbaggery like the Pre's iTunes sync/no-it-doesnt/whup-works-again/no-it-doesn't/there-you-go/oh-um-not/whaaa-standards-consortium-Apple's-not-giving-us-the-house-keys/yah-right-ya-fecking-morons-a-fake-ID-isn't-exactly-a-good-argument-either product strategy.

"Syncs just like an iPhone" was a HUGE advantage over ANY competing product in my perception of the device as a viable option (for my wife, for example, whose contract has run out and whose mobile provider is offering the Pré).

How on EARTH did they figure they could market a product as explicitly iTunes-syncable WITHOUT MAKING SURE THAT IT ACTUALLY WAS?

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

How about the fact that the first Palm Pilot was a cheap copy of the first Newton.

Who cares?
It was a good enough product that cost a fifth of what you'd pay for a Newton, and actually fit in an average pocket. It can't have been too bad.

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

Most of the employee's who made it were from Apple. They then went and formed Handspring who made the first small and sexy PDA. After that they made the first Palm based cellphone the Treo.

Palm for a short time also split up its software and hardware devision and then re-intergrated them cuz it didn't work.

They had no proper cellphone so bought Handspring and the treo.

They bought the Be OS and were working on on Palm OS 6 for about 8 years with no results. The OS was so far behind that Palm actually started making Palm phone running Windows. That is incredibly pathetic. Just as sad is they were still selling PDA's a year ago.

What does this have to do with the viability of the Pré/Pixi and webOS?

Nothing.

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

Then they brought in Rubenstein from Apple who said he saw all the upcoming hardware and Palm OS6 and had them scrap it all and start from scratch. By PURE coincidence this is all after the iPhone came out so he had most of his work done for him.

Palm was smart enough to hire somebody who knew how to do what they were looking to do.

Seems like a good move.

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

The WebOS is nice buts its only REAL advantage is that it has a nice UI for multitasking (which they stole from Safari on the iPhone) the hardware was nothing special especially those horrible keyboards.

The REAL advantage of the webOS and the Palms *was* that they were a GOOD option for everybody stuck on a different provider from the exclusive iPhone partner (where applicable). That got killed by the Droid, which, by all accounts, is a worse phone interface.

The real advantage to US is (was) that it lit a fire under Apple's ass to build a better iPhone OS.

If it's down to Apple and Google (and maybe Windows 7 Phone Extra Special Ultimate At Least The Acronym Doesn't Spell "Wince" This Time Edition if they've worked out whether the Pink guys, the Zune guys, the Windows Mobile guys, or the Windows guys are actually going to be developing this thing, and whether they'll have to re-develop every single wheel over again, or whether this thing just never actually gets off the ground at all), that will be a real loss to us all.

It's like a two-party political system vs. a real representative democracy: It's the nimble little parties that actually force movement and decisions - not always with the results you expect or desire, but at least with a real chance of getting actual progress rather than strategic stalwart positioning.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot 

It was a good enough product that cost a fifth of what you'd pay for a Newton, and actually fit in an average pocket. It can't have been too bad.

Did you have one? I had 3 newtons and a later model Palm. I was terrible that in 2005 it couldn't do what most of my 1993 Newton 100 could do. No joke even the latest models were like dinosaurs.

Seemed someone "cares" as we all know PDA's never took off and died shortly after.
Great example of how slow the company is as they never fully admitted it to themselves till 2009.

Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot 

What does this have to do with the viability of the Pré/Pixi and webOS?

Nothing.

Shows the company is slow as hell and disorganized with no direction or vision.

That's what.

Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot 

Palm was smart enough to hire somebody who knew how to do what they were looking to do.

Seems like a good move.

You got me on that one.

Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot 

The real advantage to US is (was) that it lit a fire under Apple's ass to build a better iPhone OS.

Really? Ok so what features in any regard from the Palm has Apple added to the iPhone after the Palm came out?

Thought so.

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

Did you have one? I had 3 newtons and a later model Palm. I was terrible that in 2005 it couldn't do what most of my 1993 Newton 100 could do. No joke even the latest models were like dinosaurs.

Seemed someone "cared" as we all know PDA's never took off and died shortly after.

The PalmPilot cost less than half of a Newton.

Palm sold over 30 million PDAs. Hardly ineffective.

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

You got me on that one.

Oh my oh my, poor ani got confused because I didn't add "at the time" to my sentence.

Dolt.

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

Really? Ok so what features in any regard from the Palm has Apple added to the iPhone after the Palm came out?

Thought so.

I'm sure we'll see ONCE APPLE ACTUALLY RELEASES A NEW OS.

The Palm Pré was released on June 6th, 2009.

The last major revision of iPhone OS was released on June 17th.

Boy, were they sitting on their thumbs all that time?

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot 

Oh my oh my, poor ani got confused because I didn't add "at the time" to my sentence.

Dolt.

"In 2007, Rubinstein joined Palm, Inc., leading the company's research, development, and engineering. One of his first tasks included winnowing the company's product lines and restructuring R&D teams.[1] He was instrumental in developing the WebOS platform and the Palm Pre. Rubinstein debuted both on January 8, 2009, at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. [23] On June 10, 2009, just four days after the successful release of his brainchild, the Palm Pre, Rubinstein was named the CEO of Palm."

Right so they brought him in, his ONLY project the Pre and Pixi launch with hype, sell meh, they make him CEO and later the sales all bomb and they overestimated orders and have the lowest usage and app store.

You're right again, it was a good idea "AT THE TIME", it must have been a fun first day at the office

Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot 

I'm sure we'll see ONCE APPLE ACTUALLY RELEASES A NEW OS.

The Palm Pré was released on June 6th, 2009.

The last major revision of iPhone OS was released on June 17th.

Boy, were they sitting on their thumbs all that time?

Oh so it hasn't happened in 3 years but it will soon. Apple must be taking Palm the MOST serious even though they are the smallest competitor and have nothing Apple can't do.

Hmmm ya, Androids not a threat. Almost dead Palm with 2 phones and no apps is the real competitor

Don't get me wrong, I hated everything Palm until the webOS which I actually like. I even went into a store yesterday just to play with it because I know it won't be around much longer. It looks really nice, well thought out but it isn't as easy to use as an iPhone at all. The gesture area bellow the screen was a bad idea as the screen should just be bigger. 90% of the OS is just copy of all the things the iPhone is known for and did first.

For the hardware I liked the Pre closed design but the keyboard was just stupid bad and holding it normally made it slide open slightly.

The Pixi is ok but it should be the same speed and had Wifi from the beginning as it was only $100-$30 cheaper than the faster better Pre and for most people will go for the Pre. HUGE mistake by palm that's why the 2.0 models came out so soon to fix the wifi and memory issues.

Do you have a Pre?

[Spheric Harlot]

No, I don't have a Palm.

If I hadn't bit the bullet and switched to T-Mobile, I probably *would* be using a Pré.

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

"In 2007, Rubinstein joined Palm, Inc., leading the company's research, development, and engineering. One of his first tasks included winnowing the company's product lines and restructuring R&D teams.[1] He was instrumental in developing the WebOS platform and the Palm Pre. Rubinstein debuted both on January 8, 2009, at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. [23] On June 10, 2009, just four days after the successful release of his brainchild, the Palm Pre, Rubinstein was named the CEO of Palm."

Right so they brought him in, his ONLY project the Pre and Pixi launch with hype, sell meh, they make him CEO and later the sales all bomb and they overestimated orders and have the lowest usage and app store.

You're right again, it was a good idea "AT THE TIME", it must have been a fun first day at the office

Considering the company would be gone by now if they hadn't started over from scratch, it seems sensible to bet the farm on the only chance you've got and hope if flies if it's a good product, no?

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

Oh so it hasn't happened in 3 years but it will soon. Apple must be taking Palm the MOST serious even though they are the smallest competitor and have nothing Apple can't do.

Hmmm ya, Androids not a threat. Almost dead Palm with 2 phones and no apps is the real competitor

You're fecking annoying sometimes with your putting words in others' mouths, you know that?

[Salty]

I wish Palm was doing better... maybe not beating Apple but it'd be nice if people bought their phones instead of BlackBerries

[imitchellg5]

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

ZOMG that's amazing! Wait come to think of it my iphone does the same and I bet you I can do it faster and in less actions too. Just about ever game has an instant save when you quit and a relaunch puts you right back.

So you can pause a game, move to the Facebook app, post a status, then just go right back to your game without relaunching any app? Because my iPod touch sure doesn't do that.

But I guess you also love the battery drain.

It's no worse than an iPhone 3GS.

It's not all sunshine and roses either. They stand ZERO chance in games. Zero.
The iPod/iPhone are the leader in games with very powerful hardware and the app store to back it up with tons of titles from big companies. The iPad is going to be a whole new world.

Oh, so now you're comparing a tablet to a smartphone? Once again you're totally 100% spiteful against anything that isn't made by Apple. I wasn't saying anything about the iPhone or iPod touch. I was just saying that webOS is in fact (besides a handful of small Android games) THE ONLY platform that offers 3D gaming. And you ignored the fact that big companies ARE behind webOS like Gameloft and EA.

[Hawkeye_a]

I personally like Palm. they have always been 'Mac friendly', which i appreciated during the 90s and early part of the past decade. Something most other PDA/Smart-phone manufactures were not.

It's sad that they are not doing well. If there ever was a real competitor to the iPhone, it is the Pre imho. (In my decision on which smartphone to get, it was).

I remember when they announced the 'Folio' a few years ago, and the criticism that ensued. The seed of the idea was sound. the implementation wasnt...it was one of the first 'netbook appliances' which supported 3G data that i saw. And today we have the iPad coming out.... im not saying Apple copied them, far from it. But it was the first time i saw the concept of a computer as an internet appliance, in a 'walled garden' implementation.

There are some really smart people working there imo, and right now it's going to be a bidding war for the patents, which ultimately comes down to Apple, Google, Microsoft & RIM. And considering the existing litigation between Google and Apple, i'd wager that one of these companies will buy them. I would prefer if Apple absorbed Palm into it's iPhone division, which would probably mean the death of WebOS, the underlying concepts and ideas could probably make it to the iPhone, which i think would be a good thing.

I vote Apple.

Cheers

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Originally Posted by imitchellg5 

So you can pause a game, move to the Facebook app, post a status, then just go right back to your game without relaunching any app? Because my iPod touch sure doesn't do that.

(like I said since the game has quickstart and the iPod is so fast launching for the most part yes. But that's a pretty compulsive example you got there. Usually the games themselves even post the status for you.

Originally Posted by imitchellg5 

I was just saying that webOS is in fact (besides a handful of small Android games) THE ONLY platform that offers 3D gaming. And you ignored the fact that big companies ARE behind webOS like Gameloft and EA.

I know what you saying. Makes no difference, too damn late for them big companies or not, palms fate is going to be decided in the next few months not if they can build a game library worth switching to Pre for.

[imitchellg5]

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

(like I said since the game has quickstart and the iPod is so fast launching for the most part yes. But that's a pretty compulsive example you got there. Usually the games themselves even post the status for you.

Erm, I wasn't referring to posting a status about the game... it was just an example

I know what you saying. Makes no difference, too damn late for them big companies or not, palms fate is going to be decided in the next few months not if they can build a game library worth switching to Pre for.

I think it'll be decided on more grounds than that. My point was that gaming is something that Palm is pretty strong at, yet where is the advertising? Why do they only have that ad with the creepy chick? Apple's adverts are so successful because they show the product actually being used. Palm should try that model and let people know what the phones are actually capable of. Oh, and they shouldn't let Verizon make ads featuring their phones. Cause that was awful.

For me, a few things need to happen at Palm to help them be more competitive. The first is great advertising. The second would be to improve build quality. The Pre is a nice enough looking device without being derivative like some phones, but it simply feels flimsy to hold. Third, Palm needs to get devs (besides games) behind them. iPhone apps can be ported easily to webOS, but there isn't any good enough original material. Since the iPhone has the mindshare, Palm can't just have the same stuff as the App Store, but it has to go above and beyond. Finally, they need some clear guidance. I feel like the company has made some very strong and bold moves (IE, announcing webOS right before the iPhone 3G, even though it wasn't complete), but they've been covered by misguided moves (Pixi, Sprint).

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Originally Posted by imitchellg5 

For me, a few things need to happen at Palm to help them be more competitive. The first is great advertising. The second would be to improve build quality. Third, Palm needs to get devs (besides games) behind them. Finally, they need some clear guidance

Ok for so the record you feel Palm needs:

1) Advertizing
2) Better quality
3) Apps/Devs
4) Guidance

Might have been a shorter list if you mentioned what they are currently doing right. By the sounds of it the 4 most important things they are not doing well at all

Anybody here really see Palm not only surviving till the end of the year but actually recovering?

I think the only hope they have left is to licence the OS (like MS) to HTC, Moto etc and stop making 2 crappy handsets themselves. Even then I don't think they will survive.

RIP Palm: it's over, and here's why

[Salty]

Problem is it took Motorola like two years to make an Android Handset, a Web OS one wouldn't come out for a while. Not to mention that doesn't jive well with Rubby's approach of mimicing Apple with the whole total integration... aside from syncing software.

I know with the Pre launching on AT&T that should probably help Palm a bit, but the unfortunate thing is that launching on a CDMA carrier actually screwed the pre over, all the people who originally got iPhones got them unlocked if they weren't American, this helped build buzz even before Apple wanted it... the pre had no chance of that.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

In the last quarter results do they count the number of phones SHIPPED as income or only the sold ones?

If they considered it 960,000 sold with cash income then they are big time screwed next quarter correct?
My understanding is that they have to now sell over 50% of the phones that didn't sell last quarter and are sitting in stores. On top of that not make any new phones until those are gone and even if they all sell it won't count as any new income for this quarter?

Damn.

[imitchellg5]

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

In the last quarter results do they count the number of phones SHIPPED as income or only the sold ones?

If they considered it 960,000 sold with cash income then they are big time screwed next quarter correct?
My understanding is that they have to now sell over 50% of the phones that didn't sell last quarter and are sitting in stores. On top of that not make any new phones until those are gone and even if they all sell it won't count as any new income for this quarter?

Damn.

Sold. There wouldn't be any reason to make new phones if what they have in stores aren't selling.

[imitchellg5]

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

Ok for so the record you feel Palm needs:

1) Advertizing
2) Better quality
3) Apps/Devs
4) Guidance

Might have been a shorter list if you mentioned what they are currently doing right. By the sounds of it the 4 most important things they are not doing well at all

If you ask me, they are doing the most important thing properly: Having an OS that works well at what it does.

Going way back to the original topic, after thinking it over, I think HTC would be most likely to buy Palm, or at least merge. Think about it. Microsoft won't let HTC do anything to Windows Phone 7 Series, so WinMo is a dying platform for them. Android is starting to become very fragmented due to its appearance in atrocities such as the Backflip and cheap Samsung featurephones. If HTC and Palm merged, they could keep webOS alive and well. Really, Sense UI and webOS go hand in hand. Plus, HTC has the manufacturing experience to create a solid handsets (well, that's something they already do).

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Ok well some of you think that if Palm just sticks to what it is currently doing as they have a strong OS things will work out just fine.
Assume that's not working

What do they need to do to not only stop losing money, customers and market share and actually bring them back up to a profitable company?

To me even the coolest handset in the world released tomorrow can't help them at this point.

[Wiskedjak]

I agree, nothing could make me equate Palm with "cool" again. To me, Palm equals late-90's cool. The coolest thing they ever made was the Palm V, and then they seemed to stop trying ever since.

[imitchellg5]

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

To me even the coolest handset in the world released tomorrow can't help them at this point.

Why not? If Palm came up with something with a bigger "cool" factor than the iPhone or any other phone on the market today, why couldn't that save them?

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Originally Posted by imitchellg5 

Why not? If Palm came up with something with a bigger "cool" factor than the iPhone or any other phone on the market today, why couldn't that save them?

A because they tried to out Apple Apple with the Pre and it didn't' work.

They wouldn't just have to come out with a really cool phone. They would also need 140,000 more apps, iTunes, marketing etc. all of with they don't' have the time or money for.

If you really think all they need is a new model phone you're bananas

[Salty]

Do they need more apps, yes, do they need 140 000, no. To be honest there's only a few 1000 apps on the app store that are useful, and even that's being generous. How many to do lists do you really need? There's like ten different front row remotes alone. I'm all for choice, but really Palm could be just as happy as the Mac is compared to Windows if they get a few of the major app developers on board.

The only apps that honestly really are deal breakers for me on my phone are:

Phone, messaging, Facebook, Google Maps, Photos, Music/Video, Mail, and honestly... that's really it. More than anything I like the way the iPhone does most of what it does, and I love the way it integrates into my Mac. I have several useful apps, but most of those can be replaced with a decent web browser and Google.

[Phileas]

It's a real shame that Palm are on their way out. I had several Palm Pilots when they first came out (colour screen FTW) and they rocked. Great apps for the time and very Mac friendly.

I remember being in Chicago, telling the Palm which intersection I was close to (no GPS of course) and some app or other coming back with restaurant reviews of places nearby. That was the future, baby.

[imitchellg5]

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

A because they tried to out Apple Apple with the Pre and it didn't' work.

I thought you meant coming out with a phone that pulls off cool successfully. Because if it could do that, then obviously it would garner all the sales.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Originally Posted by imitchellg5 

I thought you meant coming out with a phone that pulls off cool successfully. Because if it could do that, then obviously it would garner all the sales.

Ok so you mean a new REALLY cool phone in the next 3 months that gets more hype than the Pre did originally. Cuz the Pre was really hyped and it didn't sell so great. It also took them 3 years to come up with it so they can't just whip out a much more amazing phone in months.

No way will they get that much hype as last time most of the hype was around the OS not the hardware. WebOS is old new now.

[imitchellg5]

Hey, I was just running with the hypothetical situation that you came up with in which Palm brought out the coolest phone on the market tomorrow.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Originally Posted by imitchellg5 

Hey, I was just running with the hypothetical situation that you came up with in which Palm brought out the coolest phone on the market tomorrow.

Right I know and I was saying even if they did it still isn't enough to save them at this point. No hardware specs can beat everyone else's, still be affordable and pull them back from the brink.

They did a good last try with the Pre but it was too little too late and it is going to cost them the company. Bet they regret putting Jon in charge

Originally Posted by Eug 

P.S. I don't if it's just me, but I'm getting a bit sick of the Apple product placements too. They're EVERYWHERE now. And it's not just labs using Macs or whatever. Apple is going out its way to show iPhones with its scroll navigation and video playback functionality, etc. These TV shows are looking more and more like Apple commercials. In the past it was more subtle.

It's not just you, but it is just us. Most people don't even notice the brand of computer when they watch a show or movie because they're not looking for it.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

T
I think it will be google or HTC as when they get ownership of Palms IP's they have a case to defend themselves against Apples lawsuit or perhaps even counter sue.

Getting warmer!

HTC May Buy Palm to Fight Apple - Palm - Gizmodo