“Palm, Inc, the maker of the Treo smart phone, will continue to focus on ease of use and reliability rather than design, Palm CEO Ed Colligan said in an interview at the 3GSM telecommunications trade show here,” Aude Lagorce reports for MarketWatch.
“‘We think that will be a greater driver of purchases in the future,’ he told MarketWatch in the interview. ‘We don’t want to follow design fads,'” Lagorce reports. “While Colligan acknowledged that phones have become ‘a bit of a personal status symbol,’ he stressed that Palm’s core business user is most interested in reliable applications and great functionality.”
“Colligan suggested that recent design innovations may be passing fads, noting that while some phones have become ultra thin, that evolution has often come at the expense of battery life,” Lagorce reports.
Lagorce reports, “Apple rattled handset makers in January when it unveiled its $499 gadget, which combines a phone, iPod music player and a device to surf the Internet. Most noticeably on the design front, the gadget does away with the keyboard entirely and replaces it with a sophisticated touch-screen. But Colligan, far from awed, said the arrival of the iPhone is good news for the industry. ‘I think it’s signaling that the phone business is shifting toward more converged devices. That can only be good for us,’ he said.”
MacDailyNews Take: If Palm really thinks the iPhone is good for them, they must have a lot of Apple stock.
Full article here.
Chris Noon reports for Forbes, “Two weeks ago, Nokia’s chief executive Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo put a brave face on Apple Computer’s entry to the cell-phone market.”
Noon reports, “Kallasvuo, possibly through gritted teeth, welcomed the U.S. technology company to the fray. Apple Computer would ‘stimulate this market,’ the Finn conceded. He added that the iPhone would be ‘good for the industry.’
“On Monday, ‘OPK,’ as the executive is affectionately known by the media, had changed his tune. Speaking at the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona, Kallasvuo said Apple would struggle to replicate the success its iPod had enjoyed in the world of portable music devices. He challenged Apple to ‘turn mindshare into market share’ when it launches the iPhone later this year,” Noon reports.
Noon reports, “Kallasvuo knows he cannot match the iPhone feature for feature or ‘cool factor,’ so he needs to bring products to market that are just good enough to disincentivize customers from switching. Improving the ways in which customers can take advantage of Internet connectivity is his first priority.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: What we are witnessing here is one of the largest collective pants dirtying episodes in business history. These guys have nothing. Nothing, but the same old “it’s not revolutionary… we don’t follow passing fads… not much of a threat” rigmarole for their shareholders.
Imagine these deer-in-the-headlight CEOs: they’re all at their big phone show with their plastic keyboards festooned with tiny buttons and all anyone asks them about is Apple’s iPhone. It’s CES all over again, but worse, if possible. Every article talks about iPhone and Apple isn’t even there.
Wouldn’t you love to hear what they really think and say about iPhone behind closed doors? We’ve heard that “I’m getting too old for this” and “Where’s that ‘Taps’ ringtone?” are currently vying with the ever-popular “That #*^$%@& Steve Jobs!” for the top spot on the “Phrases Most Often Used Privately by Phone Execs Who Don’t Work for Apple” list.
This time, it’s all very well-protected by patents by Apple, too. Palm et al. don’t “follow design ‘fads'” because they can’t.
This is going to be so very, very fun to watch.
SEE ALSO:
RIM co-CEO doesn’t see threat from Apple’s iPhone – February 12, 2007
Apple’s soon-to-be iPhone rivals sound just like iPod rivals circa 2001 – February 01, 2007
O2, Vodafone, Orange, T-Mobile battle for exclusive rights to Apple iPhone in UK – January 26, 2007
Rogers to offer Apple iPhone exclusively in Canada – January 25, 2007
FUD Alert: Apple iPhone ‘isn’t very practical’ and a ‘security risk’ for business – January 24, 2007
Research in Motion downgraded due to Apple iPhone competition – January 23, 2007
Microsoft CEO Ballmer laughs at Apple iPhone – January 17, 2007
RealMoney: Apple just blew up the whole damn mobile-phone supply chain with its new iPhone – January 11, 2007
The massive FUD campaign against Apple’s iPhone ramps up – January 10, 2007
eWeek: Apple iPhone fallout: ‘They must be crying in Nokia-ville and other telephony towns today’ – January 10, 2007
Jefferies downgrades Motorola on fears of market share loss to Apple iPhone – January 10, 2007
The massive FUD campaign against Apple’s iPhone ramps up – January 10, 2007
Time: ‘iPhone could crush cell phone market pitilessly beneath the weight of its own superiority’ – January 09, 2007
Analyst: Apple iPhone should be given its own category – ‘brilliantphone’ – January 09, 2007
Apple debuts iPhone: touchscreen mobile phone + widescreen iPod + Internet communicator – January 09, 2007
collective pants dirtying!!!
how very droll
“We don’t want to follow design fads”
Interesting, then explain why the Treo looks just like the other phones. Aplle doesn’t folow design trends, they crete them.
Their focus may be on ease of use but when will we see any signs of that actually becoming reality?
Methinks he doth protest too much.
wow where have i heard this before?
This is too funny…
The future of communication devices is totally dependent on software and Apple makes great software. All these other hardware guys are not in the same league. Are they betting on Microsoft for great software? Good luck with that!
Many people (business executives or otherwise) continue to think that design is simply how something looks. A consumer product with great design will probably look good, but great design is really all about how it works, making it truly functional with an ease of use that often surprises.
MDN: “Where’s that ‘Taps’ ringtone?”
I really did laugh out loud at that one!
People are looking into my cubicle to see what’s so funny.
I just saw this article on BBC’s web site:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6353227.stm
It is all about the 3GSM in Barcelona but is entitled “Everything but the iPhone” — discussing the long shadow the mysterious device is casting on the show, even though it’s not even there! And the only photo in the article is of Steve at MacWorld in front of the enormous screen image of the iPhone. For once, it’s props to the Beeb!
Right Mac90,
Symbian and WinCe will be no match for OS X.
It’s really looking good for Apple!
There is nothing like the smell of fear…
continue to focus on ease of use and reliability rather than design
This is the problem. They think these are different things. How do you get ease of use without design ?
(independetly saying the same as NewsReader above).
Goodness from the BBC,
thanks for the link; it was an interesting read, but the writer doesn’t really contradict any of the companies’ false claims. True to the BBC standards of tech. journalism, that’s probably a matter of sheer ignorance.
E.g. It’s not the touch screen that’s original on the iPhone, but the ‘multi-touch’ screen, and THAT is covered by patents as are all the other true innovations.
That’s why the iPhone is so conpicuous by its absence at Barcelona.
will continue to focus on ease of use ??
When did they start? I think they need glasses. Apart from the cool design, which may not be a buying factor for some, the fact that you have a REAL and FULL operating system by the same company who makes the hardware (a softeware making computer company), is totally lost on them.
Or maybe its not and hence the ….Fear Factor!!!!!
It’s called making a virtue of necessity. They can’t follow, so they claim not following Apple is a virtue. If you have Windows Mobile or Sybian, you just can’t access the rich resource available to OS X. If you do not have the patents, including those for multi-touch, then you tout the inferior crap that you do have.
It sucks to not be Apple.
MW: learned, as in, “The competion has learned that they are screwed.”
What movie was that where the people on an island denied they were sinking? Was it a Monty Python flick? Anyhoo, they denied it even as the water was up to their necks.
MW:called-now that’s funny!
Now if Apple will just get to the point where the iPhone can have apps added to it, and expand the storage for MP3’s, I might even consider it. $500 for a device with shorter battery life and less flexibility than a Treo and less storage than my current iPod isn’t going to get me to switch. Add to that that I would have to change networks (and increase my monthly bill), and it’s no deal for me.
I like the style and form factor of the iPhone, don’t get me wrong. But if I can’t add apps to it like I can a Palm-based device, and if it doesn’t hold as much as my current 5th gen iPod, why exactly would I plunk down the money to buy it? I already have a decent phone and a great iPod- it’s not worth $500 to me to combine the two and reduce features, while at the same time increasing my monthly bill.
I definitely see it as a good start for Apple, and I sincerely hope they can grow the product line, but the neither of the two models they’ve announced so far would work for me.
Now, when Apple releases an iPhone that allows me to add applications to it (some sort of PDF viewer, something to work with office-type files, an SSH client, a true IM client (not SMS-based), misc games, etc) , and has 30+ GB of storage, and is sold unlocked, I’ll likely be first in line.
“will continue to focus on ease of use and reliability rather than design”
If they think these are two different things, then they will never do sither well!
“…will continue to focus on ease of use and reliability rather than design…”
This is either a lie or they have completely failed at all attempts. My Treo700P has a poor user interface and is one of the most unreliable things I have ever owned. It completely crashed on my AGAIN this last week – lost documents, had to nuke and pave again.
“…he stressed that Palm’s core business user is most interested in reliable applications and great functionality.”
I agree this is what they are interested in – but Palm and the like are not delivering – which is why Apple will eat their lunch. Perhaps not at first, but it will happen.
“…he needs to bring products to market that are just good enough to disincentivize customers from switching.”
Ahhh, the truth is told. That is the real focus of these companies – build products that are just good enough to get them sold. Laden with “features” that don’t work or are so frustrating that they are useless, with a horrible UI that is prone to crash when you look at it wrong.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen the time is ripe for Apple to show them how it should be done. But I don’t think Apple has anything to worry about but inertia as people start to see what it can be like on the other side.
Is the iphone a fad or a look at things to come? Remember those crazy ideas that Apple did and everyone thought they were nuts? You know those, “why would anyone ever do that?” things. Getting rid of the floppy drive, switching entirely to USB and dropping the legacy ports, the iPod, and various others. If history is any indication I am betting on Apple here.
apple is leading the way of inovacion when others are laming poor industries that only want their money to do nothing in history,all sofware companys should have their own UI and products but thats impossible in these days because they can see the truth in their eyes,and design,design is the most important thing besides hardware;why apple is the only company that can do this?because it has everything she needs.
“Palm, Inc, the maker of the Treo smart phone, will continue to focus on ease of use and reliability rather than design.” LOL! Apple is almost alone in recognising that it’s not a case of either/or and that you can’t have one without the other.
And as for iPhone, why not wait until it appears, instead of second-guessing what capabilities it might or might not have? I doubt that Steve revealed all in his keynote.
Avalanche!!!!
Well at least Nokia and Palm smartphones allow third party applications to be installed on them.
> Palm, Inc, the maker of the Treo smart phone, will continue to focus on ease of use and reliability rather than design
Palm’s CEO apparently does not understand that “design” creates “ease of use and reliability.” Palm is MORE doomed than ever.
If he meant to say “design fad,” how can maximizing screen size while maximizing interface flexibility be a fad.