Saturday, April 27, 2002
Dynamics in having many Pocket PC makers
Posted by Andy Sjostrom in "HARDWARE" @ 03:56 AM
http://www.pdaavenue.com/cgi-bin/news/viewnews.cgi?category=6&id=1019350020
Andrew sent us this link to an article titled: "Does Pocket PC Owe It's Success to The iPaq?" The author, Marcus Bankuti, discusses whether or not the Pocket PC owes its success to the iPAQ Pocket PC. His conclusion is: "The iPaq was not challenged much because of mind share. If Compaq did not make the iPaq, another company would have made one like it. Current iPaq users would have still bought Pocket PC, but they just bought the iPaq because it was their favorite."
His article contains several interesting thoughts, and I agree with most of them. I really don't follow the bottom line, though. It's too easy to say that "If Compaq did not make the iPaq, another company would have made one like it.". At that time most analysts had already moved on, away from Windows CE based PDAs, recommending other platforms and announcing Windows CE dead. Not many companies could have done what Compaq did, in my opinion.
But the more interesting topic, in my opinion, is the dynamics the Pocket PC / Windows CE platform enjoys in having many makers. Throughout the last years we have seen one maker having the lead during one period of time and another maker during the next. Take the Casio E-105 for example. Without the Casio E-105 sales, the total sales of Windows CE devices would be peanuts. Literally, that is.
I have included some of the Windows CE based PDAs that have meant a great deal for the current state of the Pocket PC platform in the picture below. The question mark represent the pondering of which will be the next torch bearer. Two questions to you:
1. Which signifcant Windows CE devices have I forgotten in the picture, if any?
2. What maker will replace the question mark with its Pocket PC?
Andrew sent us this link to an article titled: "Does Pocket PC Owe It's Success to The iPaq?" The author, Marcus Bankuti, discusses whether or not the Pocket PC owes its success to the iPAQ Pocket PC. His conclusion is: "The iPaq was not challenged much because of mind share. If Compaq did not make the iPaq, another company would have made one like it. Current iPaq users would have still bought Pocket PC, but they just bought the iPaq because it was their favorite."
His article contains several interesting thoughts, and I agree with most of them. I really don't follow the bottom line, though. It's too easy to say that "If Compaq did not make the iPaq, another company would have made one like it.". At that time most analysts had already moved on, away from Windows CE based PDAs, recommending other platforms and announcing Windows CE dead. Not many companies could have done what Compaq did, in my opinion.
But the more interesting topic, in my opinion, is the dynamics the Pocket PC / Windows CE platform enjoys in having many makers. Throughout the last years we have seen one maker having the lead during one period of time and another maker during the next. Take the Casio E-105 for example. Without the Casio E-105 sales, the total sales of Windows CE devices would be peanuts. Literally, that is.
I have included some of the Windows CE based PDAs that have meant a great deal for the current state of the Pocket PC platform in the picture below. The question mark represent the pondering of which will be the next torch bearer. Two questions to you:
1. Which signifcant Windows CE devices have I forgotten in the picture, if any?
2. What maker will replace the question mark with its Pocket PC?
