They needed that new Linux-OS this year. And the revolutionary new models? Last year.
Palm CEO Ed Colligan says “We’re working on it,” promises “breakthrough” devices - Engadget
Palm’s latest quarterly results might have been pretty gloomy, with a loss of $9.6M on revenue of $349M and an expected drop in revenue to $310M next quarter, but according to CEO Ed Colligan, the ship is about to be righted. Speaking to analysts during the company’s financial results conference call, Colligan said that a combination of cost-cutting measures, a reduction in the number of devices in Palm’s lineup, and work on the next Palm OS would revive Palm’s flagging fortunes. Ed also said that there was “no acceptable excuse” for missing the launch of the Treo 755p on Verizon in Q4, and that Palm was “done” revising existing products — instead focusing on “breakthrough” devices and “revolutionary designs.” We can only hope he’s telling the truth — and of course, we’ve got some suggestions for him if he’s out of ideas.
And the combo punch. Tiny, light, and Linux based. Not Ubantu, and certainly not without hurdles of its own to face, but if this sells well, adding in Android on the mobile front, and open source is really gunning for Windows on all consumer fronts.
(Double sting for Palm as well, as now both their own Linux-based mobile and UMPC platforms have been preempted.)
Channel Flip » Blog Archive » Asus Eee PC
Over on Unwired Wil was lucky enough to get his hands on the new Eee PC from Asus - which is hotly anticipated to be the next geek ‘must-have’.
With some busily decrying Android as vaporware along the lines of Palm’s oft delayed Linux-based OS, Engadget explores why Palm doesn’t join the Google bandwagon…
Palm: assimilate with Android or die - Engadget
We find it hard to believe Google didnt approach Palm; its not some secret that Palm has long intended make Linux the OS at the core of its flagship products for the foreseeable future. So why did Palm, badly in need of a leg up in getting its new mobile OS off the ground, shun this opportunity? Here Google is presumably offering up Palm a completely open and customizable mobile OS thats built to run on devices exactly like the ones Palm is developing to run its forthcoming platform. With Android, Palm no longer has to worry about mounting R&D costs, developing its own Linux variant, creating an application layer and SDK.Suddenly all Palm has to do is develop its own UI for Android, give the system the old Palm fit n finish, maybe whip up an emulator layer for previous Palm OS apps, and they instantly reap the all benefits theyve been after chasing the Palm OS-unicorn. Palms most desperate hour could be over; suddenly theres a light at the end of Palms tunnel. In fact, if we didnt know any better, wed even fancy Android was created by Andy Rubin and Google to help Palm out — its just too perfect a coincidence. So why didnt Palm join up?
Cheers for the hardware. Candybar indeed. I do think the new form factor, trim and solid, is compelling, and a $99 (subsidized) price point is very smart for the intended entry-level market. I’m curious about typing on the micro-QWERTY. If Bell or Telus ever pick it up in Canada, I’ll drop by a boutique for a demo…
Jeers, however, for the OS. Perhaps the ancient (Franken)Garnet OS won’t bother the MySpace generation, but it’s harder and harder to tolerate in a post iPhone world. And why no Treo 680 phone app?
Hands-on With the Palm Centro
The Palm Centro is, briefly, a tiny Treo 755p. The specs inside are nearly unchanged and almost beside the point. This is an entry-level smartphone designed for first-time users. As Antoine said in our forums, the Centro is now what the Treo 680 was meant to be. Let’s run down the specs, though, just to get them out of the way:
I’ve owned a couple of Palm’s and Treo’s, and they were great handsets. Were. That’s the problem. The Treo I have now is pretty much the same as the Palm I had five years ago. Little touches here and there. Small iterative evolutions. But that’s it. No real development. No more revolutions (and no, the aborted Foleo certainly does not count). Palm should have given us something akin to the iPhone years ago. They should have kept up the momentum they enjoyed with the Pilot and the Treo. But they didn’t. They spun off their founders (into Handspring) and then re-acquired them. They spun off their OS (into Palm Source) and then re-licensed it (from Access who bought Palm Source). They worked on Foleo instead of an OS to bring them out of the single-tasked, wi-fi crippled, UE stagnant dark ages.
Now it looks like the weak-tea Centro/Treo 500 is all we get until next year. Scratch that. We won’t be getting it. We don’t want it.
Here’s hoping for a Wii-class resurgent miracle device on Palm OS 2 sometime in 2009 or 2010. That’s about the last batter they have on deck.
Palms new OS getting more delays? - Engadget
The hits just don’t seem to be stopping for Palm these days. In the last few weeks we’ve watched the Foleo debacle unravel, seen the underwhelming Treo 500v announcement, and gotten word that the Elevation Partners partial sale has gone through (a small ray of light, really) — but it appears we’re not done yet. According to a scathing report in The Guardian, Palm is now projecting a 12- to 18-month wait on the new, Linux-based version of its OS (Palm OS II to you and me), which is a considerable extension compared to the dates we heard back in July (which, of course, were just more delays in a long line of empty promises), and puts the oft-hindered software closer to a 2009 release. No offense guys, but you’ve been talking about this OS for about five years, all while Windows Mobile, RIM, and Symbian have lapped you… repeatedly. Maybe you can get the open source community to lend a hand? They’re quite crafty.
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