“The former PDA giant’s embarrassing cancellation of their Foleo mini-laptop [late last week], ignominiously announced on their CEO’s blog, is just the latest shovelful of dirt in the grave of a company which once defined the handheld computer for millions of people,” Sascha Segan writes for PC Magazine.
MacDailyNews Take: Actually, Apple defined the handheld computer – for Palm and everyone else. (If you’ve owned and used a Newton, you understand.)
Segan continues, “Palm has had two big, new ideas in the past three years: the Foleo and the LifeDrive. Both have been good concepts, slightly ahead of their time, but lacking in the sheen and finish that you see on top handhelds. When the LifeDrive came out, 4GB in your hand with a huge screen and the ability to edit documents was a new, great idea—except the thing was a slow, buggy mess. The Foleo, meanwhile, could have been a lightweight alternative to laptops, except that Palm decided to position it incomprehensibly as a ‘smartphone companion.’ Nobody wants an extra device.”
MacDailyNews Take: The Foleo was a “good concept?” Puleeze. From day one, Foleo was a joke to everyone except Palm and Sascha Segan, it seems.
Segan continues, “There’s still a sliver of hope for Palm. One company has come back from this level of ignominy to glory: Apple. When Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1998, the company was in miserable shape. Our editor at the time, Jake Kirchner, was asking, ‘Will we miss Apple when it’s gone?'”
Segan writes, “Jobs slashed product lines and introduced several visionary new products, starting with the iMac in 1998, heading through OS X in 2000, and culminating with the iPod in 2001. It was a long road back, but Apple walked it. Will Palm have a Steve to save them?”
Full article here.
The odds are strong that Palm does not have a Steve to save them, but they certainly have the Steve to bury them.
As we said last Tuesday when Palm killed Foleo: “It all comes full circle: Apple brought Palm into this world and Apple’s gonna take ’em out of it, too.”
And does every floundering company facing trouble have to evoke some desperate hope that some “Steve Jobs” miracle worker will swoop in to save them? Apple and Steve Jobs are the rare exception, not the rule. Most companies that have lost whatever vision they had don’t recover at all, much less recover to dominate entire industries. The fact is, some companies don’t deserve or need to be saved as they would serve no useful purpose if they were; they’re better off dead.
Palm is an anachronism. Some would argue they always have been.
Handheld? Palm? Get it?
I think its too early to declare Palm dead. Please remember that business accounts will continue to use Palm. iPhone has no business being in “business”. It’s too lame on the Smartphone part. Windows Mobile, RIM, Palm blows it way. Don’t forget full MS Exchange Support. Without that, iPhone has no chance of taking anybody over. Sorry to break it to you guys, but thats just how its going to play.
That’s why they’re called Palm in the first place. It’s not a coincidence.
MDN – get a clue, we all love Apple, but Palm, not Apple, defined the handheld computer. The Newton no more got it (handwriting recognition) right than Windows got the GUI right.
Palm circles the bowl along with Creative and Real Player
A bit of a note though.
Apple IS INDEED cheapening the iMac line to discourage pro\’s from using them instead of Mac Pro\’s. They have already cheapened the MacBook line and seen a rush of sales of matte screen MacBook Pro\’s, so the tactic worked.
New iMac G5\’s now have
1: Glossy screens (unsuitable for longterm use)
2: Lower quality LCD\’s than previous models. Aka \”entry level\” LCD\’s (HardMac has the scoop)
http://www.hardmac.com/news/2007-09-10/#7165
Aye, Palm absolutely created the handheld space, and to some extent still owns it. There is still no more stable, flexible, useable platform in handheld computing than PalmOS.
OSX has a real opportunity to deliver the killing stroke if they bring iPhone to the developers. Just as OSX for Mac is strongest because of its galaxy of great apps, OSX for iPhone will be at its strongest when the same is true. Until then, I still love my Treo and all the wonderful things it does that iPhone still doesn’t: copy and paste to name two.
Wasn’t Palm founded by Apple guys after Newton was canceled?
OK, No. It was Jeff Hawkins of GRiD.
Nevermind.
Congratulations on being the first troll to post in this thread.
Originalrecipes,
no need to apologize.
Just put your silly post in a file somewhere on your PC and bring it out in a year ….. and you will blush deeply.
@me, get your own clue.
Sony defined the portable music experience, but the WalkMan and Sony, for that matter, are irrelevancies now. They deserve absolutely no homage, no respect, no genuflection of any kind whatsoever.
And it was our beloved Steve that killed the Newton and the eMate to make room for the iMac. Given more time and development, those two handhelds could have been marvelous machines.
World of MDN readers:
Please congratulate me on the very soon replacement of a Palm V (still doing just fine…7+ years OLD!) with an iPod Touch. It’s been a nice ride, and finally the iPod morphed into a PDA.
WOO – HOO….I’ve been waiting for this day for some time.
@ DKCR
Whats with all the ” \ ” in your post ??
you trying to remind us that youre a PC troll ?
@DKCR
New iMac G5\’s now have…
iMac G5? Where the hell have you been… G5 is dead just like my namesake and your brain.
As we said last Tuesday when Palm killed Foleo: “It all comes full circle: Apple brought Palm into this world and Apple’s gonna take ’em out of it, too.”
Ahh, nice reference to the Coz. This Philly boy appreciates it. Have a Jello Pudding Pop on me.
MacDailyNews Take: Actually, Apple defined the handheld computer for Palm and everyone else.
I was wondering when credit would be given where credit is due. None the less, I liked Palm, but they fell asleep at the wheel and demonstrated exactly what not to do in the personal electronics industry.
Bye Palm, it was real…
MW= “corps”. No kidding…
By the way…the Palm was used only for occasionally-needed on-the-go calendar entries, and other digital note-taking. It sat in my bag most of the time.
A better history of Palm is here. Btw. and incidentally, Palm’s first CEO, Donna Dubinsky was from Apple. But Palm didn’t stem from Newton or Apple (no pun intended.)
From Theodore F. MacManus’ 1915 Cadillac ad:
In every field of human endeavor, he that is first must perpetually live in the white light of publicity. Whether the leadership be vested in a man or in a manufactured product, emulation and envy are ever at work. In art, in literature, in music, in industry, the reward and the punishment are always the same. The reward is widespread recognition; the punishment, fierce denial and detraction. When a man’s work becomes a standard for the whole world, it also becomes a target for the shafts of the envious few. If his work be mediocre, he will be left severely alone – if he achieves a masterpiece, it will set a million tongues a -wagging. Jealousy does not protrude its forked tongue at the artist who produces a commonplace painting. Whatsoever you write, or paint, or play, or sing, or build, no one will strive to surpass or to slander you unless your work be stamped with the seal of genius. Long, long after a great work or a good work has been done, those who are disappointed or envious, continue to cry out that it cannot be done. Spiteful little voices in the domain of art were raised against our own Whistler as a mountback, long after the big would had acclaimed him its greatest artistic genius. Multitudes flocked to Bayreuth to worship at the musical shrine of Wagner, while the little group of those whom he had dethroned and displaced argued angrily that he was no musician at all. The little world continued to protest that Fulton could never build a steamboat, while the big world flocked to the river banks to see his boat steam by. The leader is assailed because he is a leader, and the effort to equal him is merely added proof of that leadership. Failing to equal or to excel, the follower seeks to depreciate and to destroy – but only confirms once more the superiority of that which he strives to supplant. There is nothing new in this. It is as old as the world and as old as human passions – envy, fear, greed, ambition, and the desire to surpass. And it all avails nothing. If the leader truly leads, he remains – the leader. Master-poet, master-painter, master-workman, each in his turn is assailed, and each holds his laurels through the ages. That which is good or great makes itself known, no matter how loud the clamor of denial. That which deserves to live—lives.
PC Apologist,
I’m not sure what you’re on, but PalmOS and stable should never be spoken in the same sentence. PalmOS should have died 2 years ago, but didn’t. Palm never got it with Mac support and all us mac users ended up shelling out $40 for missing sync. After dealing with a 700p for a year, it was enough to scare me into the windows mobile space, and now I’m teetering between my beloved Treo 750 (shame that it’s a Palm) and the iPhone.
Recently, Palm has just been terrible where it really counted most, customer support. They have a chance, however slim, to turn it around, but they’ve burned a lot of their fans (as the Engadget letter showed) and never fulfilled some of their promises to their loyal customers.
To be clear, I’d love to see Palm come back from the dead and have Apple and Palm really get in there and duke it out – I think we’d see really amazing things happen, but alas, Palm just ain’t got it in ’em – I don’t think.
Palm Treo Stable?¿ Please!, my Treo 700P crashed more times then my 59yr old dad playing Need for Speed Carbon.
LMAO, MMO!
You guys are too sensitive. Lets be realistic. How can iPhone gain any kind of market share without 3rd party support. Full Microsoft Exchange support. Why you can’t eve do a global search or copy and paste. These are just fanboys buying it for now. The real audience are not interested in the iPhone. Sorry to hurt your feelings, but its a realistic take on this scenario. Palm has no problems with Apple. Their challenge is Win Mobile and RIM.
Didn’t Eugene Wesley “Gene” Roddenberry define the handheld computer?
And it was our beloved Steve that killed the Newton and the eMate to make room for the iMac. Given more time and development, those two handhelds could have been marvelous machines.
iPhone is the development of the Newton (idea). Just to say it again one more time Steve killed the Newton OS because he said (and quite right I believe) one company can’t develop two operating systems successfully. So Apple focussed on OSX, would you rather Apple focussed on Newton OS? Or maybe OS 9?