You know, we see a lot (
a lot) of PR for CES meetings, press events, booth tours, and even the occasional
Jeopardy! contest. Rarely, if ever, do we get that geeky little skip in our hearts. We did, however, get one of those skips today when Palm mailed out its announcement for CES 2009, promising "all that Palm New-ness you've been waiting for." If you're an avid reader (and we know you are), then you're aware that the crew at Engadget
has been waiting / wishing for said new-ness for a
long,
long,
long time. Couple this news with recent chats we've had with sources close to the company suggesting that something kind of amazing is coming that "won't disappoint," and, well... you do the math. Seriously guys, this is the eleventh hour -- if you don't come out swinging this time, you might not get another chance at bat. Fingers crossed -- let 'em rip.
posted December 10th 2008 4:18PM
Palm's next move with either be an epiphany or an epitath.
Except for the lucky ones with wives who are nymhos...palm is never going away...
oops...nymphos...
when I think of Palm, I have the following emotions:
nostalgia - good thoughts about my Palm III for what it did during its time
appreciation - for what it's done to initiate the smartphone concept
frustration - for staying essentially the same for over a decade
hope - that they will survive and innovate again.
I'm rooting for you.
For all those with your fingers crossed that they hit the nail on the head, why are you rooting so hard for Palm? I'm genuinely curious...
I'm not against them, but I've lowered my expectations so much that they don't really register with me any longer.
For myself, I'm rooting for Palm for the fact that before there was the iPhone, before Google was a household word, and when RIM was looking as though it wouldn't last, there was Palm. Palm was the gadget, Palm was the tool, Palm was in your pocket and ready to work. I was a die-hard Palm user (my last unit was the Treo600). Lack of innovation and them selling out (of their OS and to MS) sent me running to something else. So I hope that they come out with some "Palm New-ness" that makes people reconsider their options for a handheld computing device.
palm innovates the world by introducing the 15" Palm Foleo Assistant, now you can keep your Foleo Palm organizer even more organized with this 15" laptop style device that you plug your foleo into. Buy a Handset, foleo, and 15" foleo assistant all together and save $7 today.
Sorry, but Palm blew it years ago. What the hell was the deal with that bottom quarter of the screen that... wasn't screen? All the products using that looked like shiny Casio 'databanks'. Pair that with their ridiculous love of handwriting recognition, proprietary apps/formats, and a pretty poor grasp of marketplace partnerships... Palm were dead years ago.
That bottom portion of the screen, where you could write, you mean? The one with shortcuts and which still lets me outwrite any iphone? The part which went software in latter fullscreen only palmpilots and slidin/out...kinda exactly like the menu in Android? That was/is a very usefull piece of screen.
As for the 'casio databanks' remark...yeah, the first ones. So what? Seen the first cellphones? The first computers? Anyway, like that metal bezel on the iphone? I see that and I remember T|Tungsten (and the nice Sony's) and recognise the lineage.
As for handwriting recognition...it's damn handy and a damn sight better than any fucking onscreen keyboard. Better shortcuts, faster and more accurate.
And wth is that talk about proprietary apps/formats? Are you really that much of an idiot? They're about as proprietary as anything in Android (ie pretty much open to developers) and a damn sight more open than the iphone. The palmpilot is a damn open machine.
And you know what? I still use my T3 to this day. It's fun seeing those new iphone owners look at it and declaim that my screen is bigger and better than theirs :) Which is why I still use it: no other machine has this size screen....it is perfection for reading and I'll use it till it breaks or untill e-ink finally becomes sensible (as in price and size and usable formats...preferably on an open device so I can get third party apps).
But you are correct in one thing: Palm could have won hands down. And I knew/said it when I had my IIIc in my hands, and said it again when I had my T3: all I need is a GSM.in there and I have the perfect gadget. Hell, a T3 with built in GSM (and all the extra's like sms/mms etc) would be an iphone killer right out of the box.
m.edgar - Amen, brother.
Wait... Palm fanboys still EXIST? wow
see below for reply.
The device better be called the Palm New, because otherwise the copywriter should be shot.
much as i like palm (the missus is a palm nut and has had most models - i spent quite a bit of last night configuring her new centro for mail) - this had Better Be Good. Not a last ditch ALPS-vapourware announcement, not an announcement that they've sold their soul again to windows mobile.
Personally, i'm betting they've jumped on the Android platform, like this is something innovative - i.e. given up on the whole OS business and are now just into asking HTC nicely to manufacture handsets to run someone elses's OS.
Seriously, if I were a shareholder I'd have been asking pointed questions 5 years ago and selling like a firesale 3 years ago.
Hope I'm wrong...
Give us a kick-ass touch screen, removable batt, a2DP, copy paste, MMS, upgradeable memory and new OS on a GREAT device and you'd be back in. Not just a Treo refresh Palm, a full-blown new device.....period. You had touch screen first i think so you should be the ones to really FINALLY get this done!! We're routing for you! and it's probably your last chance, if you let down it's over, people will be pissed!! we've waited long enough!!!!!
DO IT!
Well, they already have a decent touch-screen (none of this finger-only crap like the iPhone,) removable batteries, copy and paste, and upgradable memory, and MMS. So, A2DP and the new OS are all that they don't offer. (A2DP is actually already available via a third-party add-on, too.)
I have no doubt they will unveil awesome products having taken engadget's feedback and intervention seriously.
/tstis (the sarcams tag is stupid)
Palm should continue to work on their own software and use their Palm OS and just not call it a smart phone. I've owned many devices from the MOTO Q to the Touch Diamond and the Treo 700wx but the phone that gave me the best reception was the Palm Centro. Not the best for true web surfing but the text, e-mail and voice plan made it worth the price. I still keep my Touch Diamond for every other use.
this better be some New Hotness or Palm's gonna be Old and Busted....and finally flushed.
Dear Palm,
There are some, like me, who were loyal to you, who had hopes and dreams for you.
I've watch you crash, and burn, and then burn some more.
Here is your chance, (or maybe it's more of a moment) to make some of us blink twice.
So, Palm, please don't screw this up.
Otherwise you'll be back in the pit and this time we'll use napalm.
PS. It'd better be a phone, and have actual freakin' keys.
-Your fans (all 9 of us.)
Got me thinking: Wouldn't it be cool if they used "naPalm" as the code name for the new OS?
Yeah - I'm sure that'd be a big hit when they start selling phones in Vietnam.
Make that 10.
I've used (and loved) a Palm T|X since it was first released. During that time I have had a gaggle of cell phones provided by two different employers. I sync my Palm with google calendar and now with google gadgets for my address book and to-do lists--all through goosync. I wouldn't trade the Palm and its software for anything I have had available to me on a smartphone.
I'm definitely one of those folks hoping that Palm hits a home run.
just give us an android device and ill be happy.
I have to say as OLD as the Palm OS is and as much fun people poke at it, until the iPhone came out it was (IMHO) better than anything else even years newer. It is to ALL of our benefits for there to be more strong players in the market (competition is a winning ticket for the customer).
So Palm, even though I know you to be EXCELLENT at F'ING UP from time to time, I am rooting for ya 200%.
Adam
Palm: The Atari of the 21st century.
Its probably too late. I still have my TX, and even have a few notes on it I have to refer to every so often, so I sometimes even turn it on. Usually its been so long that the battery is dead and I have to charge it first. And every time I use it I'm reminded how clunky it is. I used to think these things were the greatest, but time moved on. And that was a L-O-N-G time ago.
Sure the Treos were nice for a while. But years of being way too big to stick in your pocket, lousy multimedia support, no OS evolution, etc made it seem as though nobody worked there anymore. I no longer no anybody who uses a Palm phone. We've all switched to iPhones, Nokias, WM crap phones or whatever. Anything but a Palm.
I would be happy to see a great device appear. It would be great to have more competition. But it isn't really a requirement anymore. The iPhone is clearly great. The G-phone is clearly going to be great in many forms and in a different way. And even the BlackBerry Storm, for all its initial faults might be a competitor in the long run after a few more firmware updates. And who knows, even Windows 7 might turn out to be something magically (but probably not). We don't really need Palm anymore.
But hey, its almost Christmas, so lets all hope for something great!
Palm are not releasing an Android device - seriously! How do I know this:
A. Members of the "Open Handset Alliance" (Google's consortium behind Andriod) are well known - and Palm is not one of them.
B. More importantly, Palm management believe that to truly compete in the smartphone market that they need full control of their own operating system. They have said on the record (and recently) that they are expecting Nova (Palm's new Linux OS) to be ready at the end of this year. There is no reason to expect that they have changed their direction on this.
Let us pray to the gods of Cobalt that they have built a new OS that is fast, responsive and retains the philosophy and original zen of Palm OS.
Maybe they're in the alliance, but their membership is being kept secret until the announcement is made?
How about a superthin Treo running Android with Palm-built add ons and usability tweaks? Give it desktop sync support, Exchange compatibility, built-in productivity apps, and a Palm OS application emulator all exclusive to Treo. Then add a little flair to the Treo Pro for design direction and you might have a smartphone that somebody would actually want.
Let's go Palm. You had a small success with the Centro. Now keep this trend going and knock one out of the ballpark. Too many gadget-lovers have been waiting too long for this new-ness.
Who are these Palm people?
-------
Sent from my iPhone
Man, it's reading all these posts... I had an original PALM PILOT... saw Sony create the BEST Palm OS devices (IMO) only to see them ignore their loyal customers (Why no BT on an American TH-55)?
I LIKE the iphone... but the fact that IT IS NOT UNLOCKED... no way will I touch it.
I am looking at Nokia phones (E71)... but it won't be the same... I AM SO PRODUCTIVE with my Treo 680... I'd hate to have to move on to another OS...
I have LOW expectations, so I won't be disappointed... I hope PALM can pull this through...
I have a Palm 700p with Sprint on a Sero Plan. As much as I am ready to upgrade my phone, it will be a difficult move to make because of what the Treo can do, and do well. Sure it does not have the slick interface of the new phones, but it gets the job done.
I pay a TOTAL of $26.75/month which includes unlimited data, text, tethering capability thru pdanet, 500 anytime minutes, 7pm unlimited night minutes.
I'm rooting for Palm to make a come back as well.
We're like a band of brothers... Palm die-hards... Much like apple fanboys were during their weary days...
I hope someone else does the talking though. Palm needs a new face. SOmeone with more charisma than Ed Colligan.
I am personally hoping for a new phone and a Foleo-type product.
Dearest Palm,
Please don't disappoint me like you have in the past. I know I've asked you to heed my warnings before, yet those have fallen on deaf ears. You were running the first handheld I ever acquired, back in my Junior High school days. Ah, the m130. Remember that? Remember playing Game Boy emulators when you overclocked the system to 66 MHz? From there, the Tungsten | E. I actually used that to be productive as well as the daily gaming session. But then something happened. Perhaps I grew a little. Whatever the case, I changed. And you..didn't. Oh sure, Garnet was fine. For a while. But the world of Windows Mobile beckoned to me. Called to me. Then I made the switch, to a Dell x30 High and later, the coveted x51V. Suddenly your offerings were meager by comparison, and I was MULTITASKING and emulating PLAYSTATION. I had some friends who were still using you, but after seeing what I was able to do without you they too made the switch.
So here we are now. At a crossroads of sorts. I must admit, I go into this battle weary and tired of your games. Constantly teasing about a newfangled Linux-based OS. Simply updating your Treo line. Outright SKIPPING the number four in your Tungsten T lineup, and LOSING the slider that made it so unique. Changing you name for a time, only to change right back..It's..It's all got to stop. Show me something amazing, knock my socks off. Then, and only then, shall I be yours once more. Hurry, for I feel vulnerable in this current state of limbo. Take me now, for I am beginning to feel myself become lost in a sea of iPhones and HTCs, Nokias and LGs...
That bottom portion of the screen, where you could write, you mean? The one with shortcuts and which still lets me outwrite any iphone? The part which went software in latter fullscreen only palmpilots and slidin/out...kinda exactly like the menu in Android? That was/is a very usefull piece of screen.
****
Like the Android menu? I think not. And who, other than China & Japan really uses handwriting rec anymore? Honestly?
As for the 'casio databanks' remark...yeah, the first ones. So what? Seen the first cellphones? The first computers? Anyway, like that metal bezel on the iphone? I see that and I remember T|Tungsten (and the nice Sony's) and recognise the lineage.
****
Heheh. "So what". Great argument you have there.
As for handwriting recognition...it's damn handy and a damn sight better than any fucking onscreen keyboard. Better shortcuts, faster and more accurate.
****
An extremely low percentage of phone/PDA users in the western world use Handwriting Rec. It's slow, even compared to an on-screen keyboard, and has a massively steep learning curve for any lucky souls who've never had the pleasure of trying to write quickly in Grafitti.
And wth is that talk about proprietary apps/formats? Are you really that much of an idiot? They're about as proprietary as anything in Android (ie pretty much open to developers) and a damn sight more open than the iphone. The palmpilot is a damn open machine.
****
My bad there. I assumed the lack of decent soft was due to proprietary formatting - it's actually down to the fact that no-one's gonna develop for a dead platform. Apologies.
And you know what? I still use my T3 to this day. It's fun seeing those new iphone owners look at it and declaim that my screen is bigger and better than theirs :) Which is why I still use it: no other machine has this size screen....
****
I call liar on you, sir. You're telling me that iPhone owners gather 'round to fawn over your T3's beauty and innovation. Bollocks.
But you are correct in one thing: Palm could have won hands down. And I knew/said it when I had my IIIc in my hands, and said it again when I had my T3: all I need is a GSM.in there and I have the perfect gadget. Hell, a T3 with built in GSM
****
But they didn't do it...
(and all the extra's like sms/mms etc) would be an iphone killer right out of the box.
****
A Palm device will never be an 'iPhone killer'. The only way they could ever do that would be to alienate all of you old die-hards by coming up with something completely new and not old-school Palm. If they do that, would you stand by them saying "Yah, yah, I ALWAYS loved my Palm, yah.".
*Prepares for the best low-ranking in years*
Engadget please sort out the comments system!!!!
Palm pls don't come up with just another announcement about some delusional device like the Foleo. If it is a great device, let it see the light of the day and in a timely fashion( not a CES announement about a device that would be release in the 4th quarter of 09 or 1st quarter of 2010)
Palm!
Should be interesting and will be at CES to see what happens. Hmmm...
If I had a choice of a new device by Palm, it would somewhat go back to its roots and turn out an amazing PDA. Not a cell phone with PDA bits, something more like the;
Nokia 810
http://arstechnica.com/reviews/hardware/nokia-n810-review.ars
and the semi-vaporware iRiver W10
http://www.loopygadgets.com/iriver-wave-phone-is-now-official/
There's an open niche in portable VoIP that companies have been slapping onto the iPhone. If Palm released some solid tech a step ahead of the competition it could get back in the game.
I couldn't agree more
Maybe this will give us a clue...
http://treocentral.com/content/Stories/1217-1.htm
Before Foleo was released, Palm had filed patents for different devices, including FOLDABLE DETACHABLE SCREENS and projectors on handheld devices
Quote from the patent:
Accordingly, there is a need for a display screen that can display data from a handheld computer on a larger screen without substantially increasing the size or weight of the handheld computing device. There is also a need for a handheld computing device having a removable, detachable display. Further, there is a need for methods of using a handheld computer to display greater amounts of image information compared with conventional displays. [...] It would be desirable to provide a system and/or method that provides one or more of these or other advantageous features.
Yes Palm we geeks are still here to support you.But perhaps for the last time.Keeping fingers crossed.....
Does Palm know that 'nova' means NO GO in Spanish?
It better not look that garbage treo design. If it does, watch their stock price go through the floor...
Great replica of an...iphone.