http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/ Engadget Comments for Palm loses $85.4 million in latest reported quarter -- hey, it's an improvement http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/Dec 17th 2009 5:01PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/
"face palm"]]>Dec 17th 2009 5:01PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/Dec 17th 2009 5:02PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/
Oh Steve, you so crazy!]]>Dec 17th 2009 5:26PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/
And cows go "moo,moo"! Now that we're done reviewing pre-k
knowledge, how about we discuss content based on the article?]]>Dec 17th 2009 5:27PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/
Created by John Warner and Casey Warner]]>Dec 17th 2009 5:42PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/
They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, at least Palm are trying to be like Apple Steve, you should be supporting their efforts to be you!]]>Dec 17th 2009 5:55PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/
Woosh.]]>Dec 17th 2009 6:33PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/Dec 17th 2009 5:03PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/Dec 17th 2009 5:04PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/
Let's face it, Palm have blown their opportunity. If they'd agressively pushed the Pre in the summer and deployed it to as many carriers as possible, not to mention launched it internationaly, they'd have had a chance to build some momentum. As it is the devices are being HEAVILY discounted, Android has easily won over the geek vote and the iPhone is clearing up almost everyone else. Is there a market for the Pre and Pixi? Yeah, certainly there is. Is it big enough to keep Palm going? Hmm, not so sure about that one.]]>Dec 17th 2009 5:14PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/
The reason why no people are supporting it cus it's only on Sprint. Everyone knows that if something is Spring exclusive it's not going to get as much support as it would if it was on other carriers. When WebOS goes to other carriers it'll give them a huge jump in support that they need.

You complain about the limited range of hardware well umm hello it's still fresh. WebOS phones haven't even been out for a year and they already released 2 different phones. Give them some time.]]>Dec 17th 2009 5:16PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/Dec 17th 2009 5:41PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/
The fact that Palm made the impact they did on such a small carrier is proof that this webOS business is about to take off once it hits Verizon.

I switched from V to Sprint (mostly for the significantly cheaper calling/data plans), but I'm happy with my Pre and can't wait to see it get on Verizon. In 1.5 years my contract will be up and I may switch back to Verizon and get a Pixi. WebOS is no joke, its around for the long haul. There is a small but dedicated dev community willing to support an open platform that is very flexible, and will only get more flexible over time.

iPhone is a great phone; not going to knock on it and I'll admit it does a lot of things right. However, Palm got more things right with their first generation Pre than Apple got with their 1G iPhone. There are still gaps in software and hardware, but that's what the 2G and 3G devices from Palm are going to address.

I feel people are too hard on Palm. They are making a valiant effort to be a meaningful part of the smartphone ecosystem. Everyone, including rival fanbois, should welcome the competition because it causes these companies to want to out-do each other with cooler, faster, slimmer, awesome-er devices, and the consumers always win when that's the case.

If Apple did not have any real competition, they would probably not be as innovative. Their engineers are pushed to work harder due to other companies being on their heels in regards to technology. Every company wants to do better than their rivals, and this spurs innovation. If there was no competition, we would have a monopoly, and everyone will agree we do not want that.

I'm not just a fan of the Pre, I like the iPhone too but went for a Pre because I like rooting for the little guy. I couldn't be happier. :)]]>Dec 17th 2009 5:54PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/agreed. they should have used more carriers or at least not sprint. T-mobile exclusive would have been nice.]]>Dec 17th 2009 6:04PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/
The problem Palm faces is they're providing a bespoke OS on a very limited handset range. Apple also do this but they got there first, have the best product on the market (please, no arguments there, the iPhone is still the most complete smartphone around although Android is closing quickly on the right hardware) and, most importantly, have the support of a massive dev community. Palm have launched the Pre internationally at this point, that 784,000 handsets covers (I assume) WORLDWIDE sales. Put it in context, Apple is likely to sell close to 10,000,000 handsets in the quarter and those haven't been given heavy discounts to shift stock. If you're a developer which platform are you going to head for at this stage? For that matter, they may only have two handsets but it's clear that customers aren't interested. Again, look at the heavy discounts on offer, that's not something you do if demand is high. Oh, and as for going to Verizon being the saving grace of WebOS... Palm Pre or Motorola Droid? I know which one I'd rather have at ths point.

I really want Palm to survive and do well. They've got some very nice ideas and I've always liked 'em as a company and have found memories of my Palm PDA's. But wishing doesn't mean a thing in the grand scheme of things and right now the future looks pretty bleak. ]]>Dec 17th 2009 6:04PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/
Besides the US, the Pre is available in Canada, Mexico, the UK, Spain and Germany. If it hasn't sold 1M units by now, surely being on Verizon will help, but don't expect it to be a blockbuster.]]>Dec 17th 2009 6:34PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/I agree with others. Palm's momentum has COOLED OFF. Think about it this way... If iPhone had launched this year for the first time... with the 3Gs model as its first device, even Apple would be screwed if the WebOS/Android had launched years earlier. Analysts are right to note that Apple has a multiple year headstart on everyone (like Jobs noted in his original announcement in Jan 2007).

Palm is in a crazy amount of trouble. Android and Apple have had a LOT of room to stretch and get their bearings in setting a whole new paradigm. The whole landscape changed every year, in large part to Apple's updates to the platform... and now Google, moving so brazenly as to start disrupting stock prices of trangential markets. Palm has NO time to get up to speed, and the whole iTunes debacle was embarassing to watch, even if it was mostly a visibility ploy.

If Palm Web OS goes to Verizon next year... few will care. It will be another "also ran" OS choice in a cluster of iPhones and Android phones bursting from every major outlet. Next year, Android and iPhone OS segue more definitively to tablets. With the opportunity to run the same software and reuse their market places... both seem to be moving harder towards the next wave... where all software for our computers is downloaded and installed in a simple fashion from a singular Internet super store. Microsoft is the only other player with the kind of leverage Google and Apple has, and they seem lost, with the shining exception of the Xbox 360 and little movements around the Zune HD.

At the end of the day, I don't want Palm to simply sell me device after device, and slowly make each one obsolete by sheer lack of updates. From my past experience, I have no faith that this isn't Palm's long term strategy. While Android users attempt to upgrade in spite of lack of unified support, I think part of Apple's "secret sauce" is almost pulling its entire installed base of phones with it through each major update (prompting customers and providing easy updates and free in-person technical support at all of its store). This infrastructure alone will leave a lot of players fighting for leftovers... and Palm will have a harder time of it than most. They're coming into the game underwater, and its starting to take its toll.]]>Dec 17th 2009 8:50PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/Dec 17th 2009 5:04PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/Dec 17th 2009 5:05PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/
Heres an idea, wait two weeks.

Sprint had just a 6 month contract with Palm, thats a hell of a lot better than the iPhone.]]>Dec 17th 2009 5:19PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/
I've been waiting quite a while....hopefully 2 week we will see an unlocked model, although we've seen few rumors about a GSM device recently. Not sure why there is the need to compare it to iPhone in this case. I'd say the comparison just isn't all that valid at this point.

Regardless, WebOS has lost a lot of steam since first being release(not because its bad, thats just the nature of hype) Hopefully putting it out unlocked and on Verizon can still save Palm]]>Dec 17th 2009 9:01PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/Dec 17th 2009 5:08PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/
No, actually, those are really not the mistakes palm made.

The screen is great, and I prefer it over hte iphones screen since it is sharper, and it isnt covered with a virtual keyboard half the time.

WebOS is more or less open source, and it is extremely hackable.

If you meant they should get it on other handset makers phones, then ya, maybe, you might have a point. I would like to see a Sony Clie running WebOS, but we still have to see what new devices palm releases in the future. They only need a couple more form factors to cover all possible use scenarios(a slate, and a landscape slider, and maybe something that looks more like a Treo). ]]>Dec 17th 2009 5:18PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/Dec 17th 2009 5:08PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/Dec 17th 2009 5:08PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/2) Unlocked GSM
3) Do it yesterday]]>Dec 17th 2009 5:10PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/
I agree with all your points except AT&T. Really? Why them? I've had their service, and they just plain sucked. At least T- Mobile has plans of expansion, and dosen't offer incentives to lower data traffic.]]>Dec 17th 2009 5:20PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/
A little too late for number 3 and number 1 seems a bit wrong (but what do I know?).]]>Dec 17th 2009 5:22PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/
Then again, I am arguing with someone whose username is Ritarded...]]>Dec 17th 2009 5:30PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/
in which case I say hello! might I add you looked a bit off in your most recent television showings]]>Dec 17th 2009 5:57PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/Palm sells an unlocked GSM version in Hong Kong. I don't know how the WebOS cloud computing mode works in an unlocked device though.]]>Dec 17th 2009 8:46PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/Dec 18th 2009 2:13AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/Dec 17th 2009 5:11PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/
Palm actually only sold 573,000 units, they shipped the larger amount.

Later,
Randall]]>Dec 17th 2009 5:12PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/
...of which, "80% were webos phones". 450k pre and pixis combined isn't good.]]>Dec 17th 2009 5:16PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/
It isnt bad though. They hace certainly sold over a million WebOS phones by now.

I was actually surprised that sales remained steady since last quarter. I thought they would drop off after the hype died down.]]>Dec 17th 2009 5:21PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/
don't forget they launched in europe (and mexico, though that doens't really count) this quarter which gave they another bump in sales since the new carriers had to buy a bulk amount upfront. palm also boosted ad spending, so the hype hasn't fully disappeared.

2 phones selling about a million units in 6 months isn't great these days, especially given the amount of time and money (R&D, ads, etc) put into rolling them out....hence another quarter of losses. ]]>Dec 17th 2009 5:33PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/Dec 17th 2009 6:19PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/Dec 17th 2009 5:15PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/
That's the best Nokia buying Palm strategy I've seen to date. Instead of the insane Nokia should buy Palm and drop basically its entire business in favor of one that sells WebOS phones nobody really wants, maybe Nokia can buy the brand and use it as a foot in the door for the US market.]]>Dec 17th 2009 5:48PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/
While it would get Nokia market share, internally the cost of maintaining those OS could be rather high and consolodating the three into one or two would take a lot of time and money.

Well they could just drop Symbian I guess...I certainly wouldn't mind that.]]>Dec 17th 2009 6:18PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/
8 minutes to midnight.]]>Dec 17th 2009 5:15PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/Dec 17th 2009 5:16PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/Dec 17th 2009 5:16PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/Dec 17th 2009 5:22PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/Dec 17th 2009 5:23PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/Dec 17th 2009 5:25PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/
Does not compute.]]>Dec 17th 2009 5:30PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/palm-loses-85-4-million-in-latest-reported-quarter-hey-its/
Even 'if' the iPhone does finds its way to Verizon, there will still be a suitable number of consumers who take issue with buying into the Apple madness (completely closed/limited system, tyrannical app approval process, and the fact that the iPhone lost much of its 'cool factor' when it became as common as Toyota Camrys), and will be very happy with the Palm Pre.

Personally, I find the Pre to be a brilliant device that just needs a few tweaks (microSDHC expandability ?) and a larger network/customer-base.]]>Dec 17th 2009 5:42PM