palm

Palm Treo Pro and Satisfying User Needs

A few weeks ago I wrote an article about the new Palm Treo Pro, and I was fairly critical of the new smartphone. Why? Basically because I felt that it was good, but good isn't good enough in today's dynamic smartphone market. To delve a bit more deeply into this I thought it might be interesting to use the Kano model to examine this further.

The model, named after its inventor, Professor Noriaki Kano, provides a simple way to think about how products meet or exceed customer needs, and differentiate themselves against the competition.

The model consists of … Read more

Palm needs Android? Do fish need water?

Fortune makes the suggestion that Palm should focus on Google's Android mobile operating platform, and then ZDNet follows with a question, "Should Palm drop their Linux plans and embrace Android?"

The answer is "Yes." An emphatic "Yes."

Fortune writes:

...[I]t may be time for a drastic change of strategy. If Android is all it's cracked up to be, Palm may be better off scrapping its OS plans, and throwing in with Google instead....

Certainly, Palm would be taking a risk by betting on Android. Any embrace of Google would bring the … Read more

Palm OS revision now due in first half of 2009

Palm's bid to join the modern era of mobile computing will have to wait a little longer.

The company reported yet another quarterly loss last week, and The Register noticed that Palm CEO Ed Colligan has tweaked the shipping expectations for the company's new Linux-based operating system, known as Palm OS II. Once thought to arrive in early 2009, the new operating system is now targeted for the first half of 2009, which generally means May-June 2009 in the tech industry.

Palm has managed to keep its brand afloat over the past year with the success of the … Read more

The 404 187: Where we're tickling the Bonch

We finally get our hands on the much coveted Bonch aka Bonnie Cha, Senior Editor for CNET.com. No, we don't grill her on the latest cell phones at CTIA or the proper way to make a Superman cape. Instead, we try to guess Sarah Palin's e-mail password, run through a list of Jeff's mancrushes, do the Cha Cha on the air, and take a visit to the Sex Museum, aka Wilson's cellar.

Wow, did someone open up a tank of nitrous oxide in here? Today's show is literally 40 minutes of constant laughter, and we owe that to our special guest, Bonnie Cha! She's a Senior Editor of mobile phones at CNET and one of the first people I ever met at the San Francisco office. Please don't be operating heavy machinery while listening to today's show! We do taint, tarnish, and otherwise frack up Bonnie's "innocence" by explaining the science behind "Supermanning that ho," which goes over surprisingly well with her. We also debut a service called Cha Cha that allows you to text or call a 24/7 concierge service that will literally answer any inquiry, such as "Is the 404 going to be taken off the air tomorrow?" or "Why is Bonnie's nickname The Bonch?" Of course, all of these questions can be answered using another service; here in 2008 we call it Google. Furthermore,why would I use the Cha Cha when I know Wilson will always be within arm's length of a computer? The man is physically tethered to the Internet. Finally, we take a look at the NBC fall lineup and Bonnie asks the question that's on all of our minds: Jeff, how can you like Sex and the City and still urinate standing up?

EPISODE 187 Download today's podcast … Read more

Palm's Foleo gone, but idea isn't

SAN FRANCISCO--When I first glimpsed the Redfly from Celio at this week's CTIA show here, I thought I was staring at a Palm Foleo.

But while both are "smartphone companions," there are a couple of key differences. First and foremost, the Redfly hasn't been shelved.

Also, although the Foleo was touted as a complement to a smartphone, it had its own Linux-based operating system and application development apparatus.

As noted in January, the Redfly looks like a laptop, but has essentially no processing power or storage of its own. Rather, it's designed to hook up … Read more

Dialed In 46: iMolly

Both Kent and Bonnie are on vacation this week, so Nicole invited Molly Wood of Buzz Out Loud fame onto the show as a special guest. We talk about her switch to the iPhone and what she thinks about it so far. We also discuss the HTC Dream, cute messaging phones, the Palm Treo Pro, and more. And as always, we answer a few of your questions. Listen now: Download today's podcast

News HTC Dream details

Two firsts for T-Mobile's Sony Ericsson 3G phone

Virgin Mobile finalizes Helio buyout

Verizon brings you the UTStarcom Blitz

Fake iPhones

LG Voyager in Titanium… Read more

Palm's Treo Pro finds a ever decreasing potential market

It's only when I talk with Zack Urlocker or Red Hat employees that I'm reminded that Palm is still in business. They seem to be the only ones still lugging around Palm Treos.

In Red Hat's case, it's because the Palm Treo works fairly well with Linux. As for Zack...? No clue, except that Zack isn't one to spend money on disposable liabilities.

With Red Hat's roughly 2,200 employees, plus Zack, Palm has a total addressable market of 2,201 people with its new Treo Pro.

Unfortunately, Palm has yet to find a … Read more

Palm Treo Pro: Not digging it

Underwhelming--that's the word that comes to mind when I look at the new Palm Treo Pro.

Yes, nicer looking for sure, with a strong influence from the lower-cost Centro model (and looking rather like the upcoming BlackBerry Bold). It also has 3G and Wi-Fi, which is great, the newest version of Windows Mobile, and GPS, though these can also be found on existing competitors. So it's got a decent package of features, but what's so compelling about it that isn't offered elsewhere?

In this day and age, offering a screen that takes up less than 50 … Read more

Dialed In 45: Palm making a comeback?

Let's be honest. Palm has taken some hits over the past couple of years, what with its stale operating system, and don't even get us started on the Palm Foleo. However, the company made a little comeback with the Palm Centro and things could get better with the just-announced Palm Treo Pro. This week we discuss the pluses and minuses of the new smartphone; plus, more on Google Android and iPhone 3G woes.

Listen now: Download today's podcast

News Palm Treo Pro officially announced

Windows Mobile 6.1 update released for Motorola Q9h

Motorola unleashes W388, W396, and ZN200… Read more