Palm's new website devoid of dedicated PDAs

Palm is kicking off the new year with an all-new site (worthy of an entirely new platform, perhaps?), and while that's not really news in and of itself, it's interesting to see that they've now completely cleansed the most visible pages of traditional PDAs -- you know, those crazy things Palm made its name building. The move was expected since Colligan announced last year that they'd be moving to a phone-only model, but what wasn't expected was the optical illusion Palm's trying to pull here. Seriously, the depth of field makes the 800w looks like an 800w nano, which, you know, isn't an entirely accurate representation.

[Kris @ Jan 7th 2009 11:13AM]

The 800w doesn't look "nano" to me. Do you really need to bitch about _everything_ Palm does?

[Craig @ Jan 7th 2009 11:25AM]

If it wasn't that, he'd have to complain about the font they used.

[--------- @ Jan 7th 2009 11:42AM]

I'm confused... is the 800w actually bigger than the pro?

Otherwise... WTF?

[Sentax @ Jan 7th 2009 11:49AM]

I'm just glad to see a company showing off phones on something other than a "reflective" surface.

[Tero @ Jan 7th 2009 12:04PM]

I also look forward to shadow on wood becoming the new wet mirror in a white room.

[narutogrey @ Jan 15th 2009 7:54PM]

The 800W is quite a bit clunkier than the Pro and Centro in real life. I think what Engadget is trying to say is that from the pics, you'd think the Pro and 800W are pretty close in physical shape, but it's not the case in real life.

[Jeff Lewis @ Jan 7th 2009 6:10PM]

Actually, I'd kill to see someone write a review of a phone, music player or laptop with absolutely NO references to an Apple product in it. This one was not only really oblique (a reference to a competitor's product that doesn't actually exist yet), it was confusing because there's no obvious 'big/small' comparison here. All three kinda look almost the same size.

If anything, the *centro* is the slightly smaller one.

[Anthony Dadlani @ Jan 7th 2009 11:15AM]

Palm will be extinct soon. They cant compete in the smartphone market with Blackberry and Iphone. Its a shame. They were the first to market with smart pda's like the palm pilot.

Well remember sony and their walkman. Does not matter who is first. Matters who is better.

[kjb434 @ Jan 7th 2009 11:20AM]

Blackberry and iPhone? What about WinMo and the industry drive for more Android? And don't forget about the extremely popular S60 in Europe. It's and extremly crowded market right now with no clear winner for smartphone/PDA phone OS.

[Craig @ Jan 7th 2009 11:30AM]

Thanks for the "insight"...and the advertisement...they're both appreciated.

[joe23521 @ Jan 7th 2009 11:19AM]

It's the size of the giant wood grain, not the depth-of-field, that makes the phones look small. .

[Stereotype @ Jan 7th 2009 12:45PM]

@Ian

Then why read there articles?

[Stereotype @ Jan 7th 2009 12:46PM]

*their...sheesh, I can't spell...
Wish there was an edit button... :P

[XGM @ Jan 7th 2009 9:59PM]

It's 'shopped, I can tell by the pixels.

[Freakin Ijit @ Jan 7th 2009 11:20AM]

It's also devoid of Jeff Hawkins.

And after today, Andy Brown.

[john lowery @ Jan 7th 2009 11:21AM]

ATT has now officially stopped restocking the TREO and CENTRO so unless PALM can pull off the comeback of the year, yes this American handset/computer company is officially EOL!

[kjb434 @ Jan 7th 2009 11:22AM]

I with Palm would create cool phones that run WinMO and Android clear out the proprietary OS.

The phones aren't that bad and would sell more if they use proven OS distributions like WinMo and up and comming Android.

[Craig @ Jan 7th 2009 11:26AM]

WinMo isn't a proprietary OS?

[kjb434 @ Jan 7th 2009 11:30AM]

WinMo isn't proprietary. You can get it on a multitude of devices made by many different manufacturers.

Blackberry OS, iPhone OS, S60, and Palm OS are proprietary.

WinMo and Android are available for any manufacturer to use.

[Epsilon-Not @ Jan 7th 2009 11:37AM]

Palm OS isn't proprietary- hell, it's not even made by Palm, Inc., it's made by ACCESS... It's just that Palm is the last company left that still uses it, but Tapwave, Sony, and others once made Palm OS devices as well.

Also, the Treo Pro and Treo 800w use Windows Mobile anyway.

[L @ Jan 7th 2009 11:36AM]

S60 isn't proprietary either - Samsung and LG both build S60 devices already, and SE is likely joining them soon.

[kjb434 @ Jan 7th 2009 11:40AM]

ACCESS was part of palm. Why do think they called it PalmOS? It was sold off in an attempt to spread the PalmOS to more devices. It hasn't work though.

Good to know about S60 getting more manufacturers. It means there's a growing market for it.

[deucetre @ Jan 7th 2009 2:15PM]

"WinMo and Android are available for any manufacturer to use."

Any willing to pay the licensing and follow their rules. Isn't this proprietary?

From Wikipedia:
"Proprietary software is computer software which are the legal property of one party. The terms of use for other parties is defined by contracts or licensing agreements."

[namtastic @ Jan 7th 2009 3:48PM]

@kjb434, S60 is not only currently multi-handset (see s60.com/devices) but S60 itself is going open-source (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symbian_Foundation)

[Jonathan @ Jan 7th 2009 11:24AM]

Please give us 64-bit USB drivers!

[tartis99 @ Jan 7th 2009 11:29AM]

The new site looks really good, but I hope that it is updated with new products coming soon!

[miles @ Jan 7th 2009 11:32AM]

They still do list 3 pda's on the web site, still need to look alittle deeper to find them.

[Fernando @ Jan 7th 2009 11:35AM]

That's a weird type treatment they did there, look at that "800"

[ChillyWilly @ Jan 7th 2009 11:37AM]

As a Treo 755p user, and a long time Palm user, I'd like to see Palm around for a while. But they really need to knock this new OS announcement out of the park. Otherwise, I will agree with some of the other comments above mine that they are a goner.

I do like the new design. It seems a lot faster than their previous site. The menus and clicking are much snappier than before. And their support site still shows a good amount of the older non-phone PDAs. I just got rid of my last two non-phone PDAs - Palm IIIx and the m515. I will say this much for the Palm devices... they work very well for the long haul as older devices. Even my IIIx still synced with OSX 10.5 without any issues.

[Freakin Ijit @ Jan 7th 2009 11:37AM]

So who is going to be first to identify each device shown on each management page?

[stromm @ Jan 7th 2009 11:46AM]

Well crap. I was just about to buy a Tx to replace my old Zodiac2. Nothing else has a screen to match, or the simplicity of a Palm. All I want it for is ebooks. Kindles/etc are too big. No reason for a full paperback sized when reading ebooks. Shame ebook readers don't have lit screens (not counting the Sony 700 since that's WAYYY to expensive).

Guess I'll have to hit ebay now.

[Miguel @ Jan 7th 2009 1:52PM]

PDA's are still on the site, just not presented. Just dig.

[Pavelz @ Jan 7th 2009 11:55AM]

I am working for a cellphone provider and I had the misfortune to work a bit the Treo Pro and in my opinion among all the other WinMo handsets I've been using in the last 6 months this one has to be the weakest. The QWERTY/Touch screen deal is really awkward and shows lack of direction. The buttons feel really toy'ish and the overall system is really slow and tiresome. Better blend it

[Fred @ Jan 7th 2009 12:07PM]

The PDA is dead friends :(

[ITRanger @ Jan 7th 2009 12:18PM]

Palm's attitude to closing down it's PDA line is completely disappointing. My Tx will have to last for years now ... as I cant do without it or the apps, and I do own a smartphone too.

I would say that you wouldn't see the likes of Leica, or Rolex complaining that they cant sell more cameras and watches to the public. But actually, they probably do. However, the main point is that it's their exclusivity makes them in demand products for their market niche.

Still Palm are nothing like as luxurious as any of those company brands, the only thing they are is totally clueless.

I long for the days when PDAs were just built mainly for enthusiasts ... before companies got greedy about market share i.e. trying to flog lifejackets to people who have never seen or been near a sea!

[kjb434 @ Jan 7th 2009 2:31PM]

PDA's were never built for enthusiast. Sure, they bought them because they were very advanced at the time, but the manufacturers built these for the business world.

[Jon Acheson @ Jan 7th 2009 3:05PM]

Especially since the TX isn't even all that good. Mediocre features, overpriced, and with yet another in a long line of useless proprietary connectors.

Somewhere, sometime, someone will provide me with an upgrade path. If it isn't Palm, no great loss.

[L @ Jan 7th 2009 12:26PM]

Isn't Palm supposed to announce the first Nova device in the next few days?

[Freakin Ijit @ Jan 7th 2009 12:42PM]

That's the rumor but we don't actually know what they're going to say tomorrow.

[boomsilent @ Jan 7th 2009 12:32PM]

where is palms announcement?

none of their other products matter. actually, NOTHING else they say matters either if it doesn't have anything to do with the OS.

I dont stay on the cutting edge, its too sharp for me, but im still amazed how this company still has any legs. bag em and tag em, then make fish fritters out of em. thats said, i fully support the dissolving of any company that creates crap products and rests on their laurels for so long.
respect to those who still give a crap, man, yall have a wicked pain threshold.

[Jon Acheson @ Jan 7th 2009 3:07PM]

Palm's do or die presentation is tomorrow. If they aren't announcing a compelling product that's ready for market, they are dead.

As a PDA user, they are dead to me already.

[Adam Williamson @ Jan 7th 2009 12:35PM]

"Really smart. Super simple." - did someone get paid to come up with that crap? And if so, how do I get that job?

[superhobo @ Jan 7th 2009 12:59PM]

Palm L I V E S!!!!!!1

[joe blow @ Jan 7th 2009 1:16PM]

There is still no better handheld/auto-mount combo GPS than my Palm powered Garmin iQue 3600 GPS/PDA. Even after 5 years. Abandoned by Garmin, but I can't blame any company from separating with Palm. They seem to have a business death wish. Ah, what the Nuviphone could have been. BTW, where is the Nuviphone?

[shugg @ Jan 7th 2009 2:04PM]

its sad to see whats become of palm. when u think of it they started touchscreen.,.i doubt even android will save them.,.,.,r.i.p. palm.

[Hackettman @ Jan 7th 2009 2:19PM]

I was playing with the treo pro at engadgets party and I fell in love...... A bit more coin in my pocket and Ill go for the hefty price tag...... 800w doesnt look too bad if it was in other colors.....

[dcoaster @ Jan 7th 2009 4:24PM]

Make way for Nova!

[Nick M @ Jan 7th 2009 4:49PM]

I wish palm would make more phones with PalmOs. Windows mobile is a POS, misses calls, locks up laggy and slow user interface. PalmOs is soild. I almost prefer using my treo 650 over my att tilt just for the fact that i dont have to reset my phone every day.

[Yevon @ Jan 7th 2009 5:23PM]

Finally, somebody that agrees with me! I loved my Treo so much over my WinMo phone. I had to reset my Windows phone every day several times. Hopefully AT&T will get an Android phone soon.

[benjimon @ Jan 7th 2009 6:53PM]

Tomorow needs to hurry up and get here.. I've been waiting for palms CES announcement for over a month...

I think the new website pic is just temporary and they will release a new site tomorow after the new phone(s) are announced. They must have something working for elevation to inject 100mill$$$ into them last month.

And who cares if palmos is proprietary? There are tried and true apps for everything. I find the Excel spreadsheets work better on my treo 755p than my treo pro with winmob....