RSS Feeds
Phones
Palm's Grand Plan to Save the Brand Barely a Plan At All
Posted by Gizmodo US Edition at 5:30 AM on August 21, 2008
Palm is in a tough place right now, with a staid reputation, a decade-old OS and a line of phones that are all, well, sort of boring. The New York Times ran a piece today charting Palm's revitalisation plans, which are being carried out under the guidance of CEO Ed Colligan and Apple vet Jon Rubinstein, and they aren't altogether inspiring. Sure, there's always Palm OS 2, but this piece seems to imply (not surprisingly) that we might not see that until the middle of next year. And from the looks of it, Palm's troubles may run deeper than that.
Rubinstein, brought in as part of a massive investment deal, seems prone to odd semantic diversions, telling the Times that "Everyone is trying to make an iPhone killer, we are trying to make a killer Palm product." That's lovely, but Palms don't exist in smartphone vacuum; Palm is ailing because their competitors' products are just better. He follows by saying that he "isn't going to save the company, [the employees] are going to save the company." Which I'm pretty sure means roughly nothing.
He claims to have taken a more hands-on approach in fixing Palm. The Times relates a few anecdotes from before the launch of the vital Centro, which almost launched as a buggy, crappy product (a failure that might have buried Palm who's still floating in part because of the 2 million units they've moved):
Rubinstein dispatched a team of executives to Taiwan and China to oversee production more closely. He made them redesign the battery panel on the back so it didn't squeak. And he asked for fixes to the software so it would lock up less frequently." One thing he wanted to fix was the fit of the phone's plastic pieces. When he went around the room and asked who was in charge of that, no one spoke up. Mr. Rubinstein did not relent. "I asked until I found out," Mr. Rubinstein recalled saying. "Then I said, 'O.K., what do we have to do to get it done?'"
This sound more like hands-on bugfixing than revolutionary management. The attractive Treo Pro may have dropped today, but if Palm doesn't deliver a fantastic OS 2, and soon, their future doesn't look too bright. [NY Times]
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
strider_mt2k
Posted 6:53 AM 21/8/08
Spare me.
Ever seen "The Music Man"?
This is the song and dance that distracts the shareholders into singing Barbershop while Culligan and pals slip away.
+ Watch video
strider_mt2k
Fox Mulder
Posted 6:51 AM 21/8/08
@TommySez: Nice one!
Fox Mulder
Fox Mulder
Posted 6:50 AM 21/8/08
I here Palm is issuing a C&D letter to the Palm "Get Satisfaction" page because people may actually be lead to believe that they can get satisfaction from the real Palm.
Fox Mulder
TommySez
Posted 6:49 AM 21/8/08
Just installed a new battery for my Tapwave Zodiac. I'm set for another few years.
TommySez
Monty
Posted 6:45 AM 21/8/08
The Treo is what saved Palm from death five years ago, but it is becoming increasingly difficult to see how it could save them twice. When the Treo came out, the only competition was a Windows Mobile platform that required rebooting a dozen times a day, whereas the Treo only required half that. Amazing! More importantly, the Palm interface was (and, arguably, still is) easier to use than what Microsoft currently uses.
But that was five years ago. Today the market (in the U.S.) is dominated by RIM and Apple, primarily because their interfaces make Palm and Microsoft look like they invented their products in the early 90's. (Which, I think they did.)
Maybe Palm can create some new 'gotta have it' hardware, much like the Wii. Unfortunately, it is going to take a lot more than the Wiimote of Treo's to fix their situation. While I say it half jokingly, it may be simpler for them to wave the white flag and close shop.
Monty
Joseph
Posted 6:43 AM 21/8/08
@direct45: Yeah. Even when the original iPhone came out, it was lacking features but it captivated audiences with its user interface.
Joseph
xxenclavexx
Posted 6:40 AM 21/8/08
they really should have brought out the folio, that would have saved them!
xxenclavexx
Shoe
Posted 6:36 AM 21/8/08
Palm HAS to figure out that its all about the user experience. That's what made them so popular (ten years ago) and what makes the Fruit company so popular now. Direct45 is right- that OS is overdue.
Shoe
direct45
Posted 6:29 AM 21/8/08
Oh come on, have some faith! Isn't the smartphone market so much more interesting with Palm as a player? I for one think they have something to offer. But it's software, not hardware, that's gonna save this company...
...better triple-time that new OS boys.
direct45
bandit
Posted 6:28 AM 21/8/08
Real sad. I still carry around my Tungsten T3 because the calendar on both my Blackberry 8800 and my iPhone aren't as good as DateBK5. Yes, I know that means I'm carrying three gadgets -- I hate it, and I blame Palm for not giving me a suitable new device.
bandit
ThriftyTechie
Posted 6:26 AM 21/8/08
I'll say it again: Palm's dead.
ThriftyTechie
i_prefer_sasquatch
Posted 6:22 AM 21/8/08
You don't need to be a fortune teller to read the palm of this company.
"Your life line ends abruptly right ... here!"
Drops hand in shock
"You're already dead!"
i_prefer_sasquatch
MikeSWelch
Posted 6:16 AM 21/8/08
I had a Centro once, I think it was called a Palm III
MikeSWelch
Razta
Posted 7:27 AM 21/8/08
If, and a big if, my centro had Iphone's web browser, I would be total happy with my Centro.
Well and the ability to see muliple outlook inbox folders.
Those are my two gripes about the Centro.
Razta
Daytodaz3
Posted 7:50 AM 21/8/08
The palm interface is awkward. Not to mention they seem to sell for outrageous prices when compared to blackberry and the new iPhone 3G (excluding the $99 Centro).
It seems like you get a lot more bang for your buck from RIM and apple.
Daytodaz3
direct45
Posted 7:44 AM 21/8/08
Crap. I just realized I forgot about Android...
...better quintuple-time that next OS, Palm. Like... yesterday.
direct45
Razta
Posted 8:09 AM 21/8/08
@karasu is my homeboy:
Are you using the Instinct with Exchange?
Are text messages threaded like Palm or just bunched together like an old flip phone?
Razta
karasu is my homeboy
Posted 8:04 AM 21/8/08
This phone looks great. If I was one of those WinMo fans, I'd be all over it.
@Razta: I got rid of my centro and now have an Instinct.
It's sad when a touchscreen keyboard is better than a physical one.
karasu is my homeboy
karasu is my homeboy
Posted 8:42 AM 21/8/08
@Razta: I'm a college student, I use the Instinct with Gmail, AOL and my school email account. So no exchange, but I can vouch for those.
It's threaded text messages in order of arrival like Palm as opposed to RIM.
karasu is my homeboy
frigg
Posted 10:00 AM 21/8/08
If Palm OS 2 can't run the "I Am Rich" app, they're in serious trouble.
frigg
The_Gas_Man
Posted 1:47 PM 21/8/08
The_Gas_Man
metku
Posted 3:54 PM 21/8/08
Its really sad. I really loved m515 then switched to zire72 (still alive and kicking) but their own death rests entirely the management. I mean its really stupid to go without wifi (with exception was one of tungsten series and lifedrive )when back when dell and hp churning out ppc.
Srsly, just liquidate the whole thing and go vaction or something.
metku
GS707
Posted 4:49 PM 21/8/08
It's a total shame... Palm owned the touchscreen scene for years and feel asleep on the wheel and "Cooligan" is a moron... I mean how many dumb ass managers does the U.S. have look at GM , Ford, Starbucks... etc... everyones out chasing they're bonuses and leaving the guys at the warehouse to run the company... what happened to "vision" and be one step ahead of the competition.. Everyone hates Jobs because he makes all other CEO's look like silly, lazy and retarded children
GS707
John Herrman
Posted 5:26 PM 21/8/08
@The_Gas_Man: No, WinMo is bad wherever it rears its ugly head.
But honestly, read Adrian's hands-on with the Treo Pro, then re-read your comment.
John Herrman
mechfluff
Posted 10:10 PM 21/8/08
I own the centro pictured in this post.
Yes its a boring phone, but it works as a phone. That's all I need. I only call and text people and it works good for that.
mechfluff
alowishus
Posted 5:12 AM 22/8/08
Wait, the future of Palm is in the hands of its employees? Oh my. If my experience working in their marketing department is any indication of how the rest of the company "runs," they're doomed. DOOOOMED! Oh, and I've said it before and I'll say it again: They should have poured their resources into a new Palm OS, like, six years ago. And avoided WinMo like the plague.
alowishus
videoCWK
Posted 9:53 AM 23/8/08
Well if they'd get Windows Mobile off that one Palm phone and then clean up the OS a little they could have a good phone on their hands. The hardware is OK, the software just needs a tune up. A tune up that doesn't involve switching to Windows Mobile.
videoCWK
hds272
Posted 6:33 AM 21/8/08
Will palm os2 be owned by palm? The old one was sold of to access so palm is now just a concept and design team as htc makes hardware...
hds272