Palm ads take a shot at RIM's recent Blackberry outages

Nothing says Valentine's Day like trying to cash in on a vulnerable, insecure relationship -- and it looks like Palm's doing its best to, ahem, "be there" for Blackberry addicts left a little shaken by Monday's network outage. The company's taken out full page ads in several national papers and changed its homepage to read that Palm devices include a little something called "uptime" -- which is actually pretty funny since we've got a Treo 750 here that's been rendered all-but-useless by AT&T's various outages these past few weeks, but we'll still grant points for panache. Of course, that still doesn't change the fact that a recent survey ranked Palm dead last in customer satisfaction, but since when has being a homewrecker had anything to do with long-term happiness?

[Via coolsmartphone]

[Kiwi616 @ Feb 14th 2008 2:26PM]

Don't have a Palm or BlackBerry, but Palm needs to do something drastic before it fads away like the Foleo.

[Dax @ Feb 14th 2008 4:13PM]

Those phones are so old and so ugly. Poor Palm.

[soviet_vexxer @ Feb 14th 2008 2:31PM]

what an asshole company.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/02/13/palm-ranks-last-in-satisfaction-survey-no-one-surprised/

[Dave @ Feb 14th 2008 6:58PM]

can you really blame palm though? theyre just trying to tread water before the sharks come and eat them.

[Khris @ Feb 14th 2008 3:16PM]

Desperate time call for desperate measures.

Yet more proof that Palm is dying a slow and painful death as it hemorrhages out of the PalmSource and Access Linux wounds.

[Mark @ Feb 14th 2008 2:36PM]

I like Palm, but how can they advertise "uptime?" They don't run the networks their phones work on.

[Reid @ Feb 14th 2008 5:32PM]

That's how. They don't run a poorly-managed centralized network.

And poorly-managed is the name for something that has had 2 major long-lasting outages in a year. In the tech/telecom industry, this reliability is laughable.

[Matt @ Feb 14th 2008 2:37PM]

So instead of trying to better their customer satisfaction, they're trying to bring others down to their level, awesome.

[Mark @ Feb 14th 2008 2:42PM]

The Palms just use Windows Mobile 6.0 to tie directly into an Exchange server via OMA (outlook mobile access). This is actually much better as there is one less point-of-failure (no need for RIMs servers in the middle).

IMO, Widows Mobile is far superior than the Blackberry model, and it is MUCH CHEAPER - BlackBerry Enterprise Servers are EXPENSIVE!

[kjb434 @ Feb 14th 2008 3:24PM]

I second that! Removing the clog of the Blackberry central system or the potential cost of a Blackberry server allow for longer uptime.

[Erwos @ Feb 14th 2008 2:43PM]

Considering I just replaced my wife's Treo with an HTC Titan, they could probably do better with putting up a good new phone or shutting up.

[FK @ Feb 14th 2008 2:43PM]

Uptime? You gotta be kidding me. My current Treo 700w cant hardly go a day without a reset. Might I add how much I enjoy removing the battery cover every pushing the stylus into that tiny spot one a day....

[FK @ Feb 14th 2008 2:51PM]

Sorry for the missing words and typos in my above comment, I typed it on my treo.

[kjb434 @ Feb 14th 2008 3:25PM]

Uptime refers to the network, not the device itself. If any other device (not RIM) could use the Blackberry system, they would have been down also.

[Reid @ Feb 14th 2008 5:30PM]

Sounds like my Motorola Q, except substitute once-daily with thrice-daily.

There's a reason I gave it up to go back to a normal 9-key cellphone.

[Laughing Outloud @ Feb 14th 2008 2:44PM]

Palm is being run over the coals for its new negative-to-competitor words -see the comments in the Palm Blog about the RIM outage.

[jsok @ Feb 14th 2008 2:44PM]

-1 for Palm. I wouldn't give my Blackberry for any other smartphone. (At least until Android starts rolling out)

[XDS @ Feb 14th 2008 3:00PM]

Ugh , isn't that "fade" ? kiwi ,

As far as being an "asswhole" company , this is the same asswhole company that was one of the first to take on big corps. like M$ , HP , CP , and a few other 2 digit character... ... *cough* *cough* billion dollar names....


How quickly we all forget.... ?



I myself wish the foleo had been released , maybe not in its present fashion but another flavor perhaps , I probably would have been one of the first to buy it.

And just FYI and to be fair , I worked for MicroSloth and own (and owned) several crackberries.



What is so terrible about what palm is doing here ? , When they are right they are right.

They haven't portrayed anything false. , Slandered anyone in the pronoun sense of there action , or deceived anyone in any sense.


I think guys/gals like you need to take a test before your allowed to post here. Seriously.

[Jon Shipman @ Feb 14th 2008 2:53PM]

Agree. I love Palm. I just wished they had a GSM handheld with Wi-Fi out before I had bought my T-mo Wing by HTC. :( good news is that my boss found an unopened m515 under her desk and gave it to me :D Pure handheld bliss.

[funkyp56 @ Feb 14th 2008 2:52PM]

Uptime is easy when you have no users ;)

[soviet_vexxer @ Feb 14th 2008 2:54PM]

speaking of a test for posting, wtf is "asswhole". dont bitch and moan till you can spell. cause i know you weren't correcting my spelling.

[XDS @ Feb 14th 2008 3:02PM]

AFAICT , We use them everyday. , The minor c+ , the graphiti writing language , it all started with one company , bought and outed from palm to all of us nuckle heads.


/Best JamesEarlJones voice/ Remember... Remember.... Rememb.. \


< sigh > The Palm V , .....those where the days.

Scored about 10 of these beauties from Accompany(mobshop) for 70bux apiece when they where selling for 3/4 hundred at the time. :D :P

[Jason @ Feb 14th 2008 3:15PM]

I don't think Palm's current form factor is bad. I owned a 650 and really enjoyed it. But I think their designers/engineers are getting long in the tooth. it's time to bring in some new blood with a radical sense of style. The software isn't terrible just ugly and unintuitive. I really want Palm to come back and I think the Foleo was a move in the right direction if only a small move. I do not care for the Windows Mobile platform and I hope Android can really take care of the GUI aspects of these phones.

[XDS @ Feb 14th 2008 3:10PM]

vexxor , look up asswhole in the dictionary , you did intend it to be a slang did you not ?



asswhole


noun - Description of a person that reminds you of a whole ass.

usage - "You asswhole , you blew up my house."

[cruci fiction @ Feb 14th 2008 3:10PM]

OMGWTFBBQ??!!11!!

A company puts out an ad that points out a large flaw in one of their biggest competitors! What a new low this world has sunk to, a terrible tragic day.

Why do you guys hate Palm so much? I mean, you have to really really hate a company to slam them for this, its really getting ridiculous on this blog.

[PSM @ Feb 14th 2008 4:21PM]

I have been a loyal Palm user for about 8 years, and I finally gave up last fall. Their phones are crap. The "fixes" they put out for them a year-and-a-half late are crap. Their new phones contain the same bugs. They couldn't even GET a phone released on Verizon for over six months after it came out on Sprint because it kept failing testing.

And the Foleo. I won't get into that.

I want Palm to get it together, because I like the company they used to be when they made good, innovative products. But in the meantime, they have no business making snide remarks about anyone else whose phones sucked for 2 days in the last year, when theirs sucked 24/7/365 (at least on the Palm OS side).

[H4MM3R @ Feb 14th 2008 3:30PM]

Nice to someone putting pressure RIM. Even if it is Palm.

[Jason @ Feb 14th 2008 3:29PM]

Ok...you know what...Palm can eat a you know what. Their phones are horrible. They have been on the verge of financial collapse forever. Blackberry has one of the best UI's I've used on a smartphone and even though the blackout for service sucks, it didn't last that long. I've been out of a working phone for days when my Treo died 3 different times for the same issue (keyboard stopped working, LCD showed only half the picture). RIM makes a far superior phone that Palm will never be able to match.

[DT @ Feb 14th 2008 3:34PM]

Well, you know, engraved stone tablets are pretty reliable too.

[xbit @ Feb 14th 2008 3:34PM]

Marketing is so much cheaper than R&D.

[Victor @ Feb 14th 2008 4:08PM]

you guys are idiots. Palm isn't the greatest (i'd rather have an HTC handset anyday), but BLackberry enterprise users are lemmings.

WM w/ exchange is actually faster, synces better, and doesn't rely on a remote 3rd party "stopover" to make sure I have my email/attachments/contacts/notes/tasks when I want my email/attachments/contacts/notes/tasks.

Plus, though WM6 is no winner in the reliability or looks dept, the latest BB units aren't without their memory leaks/resets/crashes either.

[ED @ Feb 14th 2008 5:01PM]

*Rimshot*

[nojok3 @ Feb 14th 2008 6:09PM]

Its not worth it to me to play BlackBerry service prices either, when I can get UL data from Sprint on my Treo 755p. Why pay an extra $20/month?

[Andy @ Feb 22nd 2008 11:22AM]

Damn Engadget! Can you show your bias against Palm a few more times per day. I don't think we all understand your hate for everything Palm does but of course Apple is always perfect. Let's take a look at your 2 comments below and how incorrect or spun you made them.

"since we've got a Treo 750 here that's been rendered all-but-useless by AT&T's various outages these past few weeks,"

Hmmmmmm...Doesnt that mean all devices including the Blackberry's were down as well not only your Treo 750 as you made it sound. This ad is referring to NOC outings that you will not see on a Treo 750 running Microsoft EAS Push Email. Meaning the Treo 750 email is more reliable on a national basis.

"Of course, that still doesn't change the fact that a recent survey ranked Palm dead last in customer satisfaction, but since when has being a homewrecker had anything to do with long-term happiness?"

And of course you also don;t have all the data here. While it could be true Palm has the "lowest" customer satisfaction you can't not make that claim here. The results from the survey only show "Very Satisfed". What about the customers who are "some what satisfied", "Neutral", "Some what unsatisfied" & "very unsatisfied". You have to see the entire study to be able to conduct a true answer as to who has the worst customer satisfaction. What is Nokia, Samsung, Motorola customers have more "Some what unsatisfied" & "very unsatisfied" customers than Palm?

You also make no note of the other 2 survey's conducted at the same time with the complete opposite results (third-party firms - Satmetrix and Russell Research).
http://www.engadget.com/2008/02/13/palm-ranks-last-in-satisfaction-survey-no-one-surprised/

Why don't you get off your high horse and give Palm a little credit for creating a device like the Centro that has mass appeal to customers wanting an inexpensive and ease to use smartphone. Oh and by the way the Centro been shown love from Time Magazine, CNET, WSJ and New York times.


And where is the review of the dang Foleo????????

[mentalsticks @ Feb 14th 2008 7:03PM]

Hear hear! I really feel that Engadget WANTS Palm to fail and I'm not enjoying it. Palm has been a great company for a long time, and now they've hit hard times there's no reason to drop them like a rock. Especially considering, for example, how well they listened to Engadget on the issue of the Foleo, for example.

[bac522 @ Feb 16th 2008 11:07AM]

How's that saying go "those who live in glass houses..."