Wednesday, December 3, 2003
Palm's Creativity vs. Windows' Compatibility
Posted by Ed Hansberry in "THE COMPETITION" @ 05:00 AM
http://www.businessweek.com/print/magazine/content/03_49/b3861037.htm?mz
"While Palms are evolving into new and intriguing shapes, handhelds using rival Microsoft's Pocket PC software seem stuck in a rut. There are dozens of strikingly similar Pocket PCs that basically come in two flavors: those that double as phones and those that don't. The result is that consumers looking for the most innovative products are going to find a lot more to choose from in the world of Palms. For example, the first Pocket PCs with built-in keyboards are just starting to appear -- two years later than in Palm-based products...There's a downside to all this creativity in Palmland. A game created for the zodiac won't run on any other product, in part because Tapwave uses a unique, PC-like video adapter to get maximum performance in action games. Garmin modified the operating system itself, a step Microsoft would never allow, to get better GPS performance. "It's slightly chaotic in the short run," says PalmSource CEO David Nagel. But, he adds, everyone benefits when individual licensees' improvements are rolled into the next version of the PalmSource software."
No one questions that some PalmOS devices are really cool in their designs, but ask the average person to pick out a PalmOS device with features X, Y and Z and they will be stumped, standing at the CompUSA PDA counter like a kid in front of a candy stand trying to pick just one candy bar. Take WiFi for example. With the exception of the iPAQ 1910 and maybe a low end Toshiba or two, there aren't many Pocket PCs that aren't WiFi capable. More and more have it integrated, but those that don't can slap in any number of compact flash or SDIO WiFi cards and be up and running within a few minutes of installing drivers. Palm OS devices? Yeah, most have SDIO or other IO capable slots, yet the diversity of devices is making writing drivers difficult. San Disk has given up on WiFi for the millions of Palm OS 4 devices like the M500 series. They are trying to get the SDIO WiFi card working on Palm OS 5 devices but have delayed 4 times. Now it will be Q1 2004. San Disk has removed all evidence from their web site that they are even working on a Palm OS version of the product, presumably so they can quit postponing it and just release it whenever, if ever, it is done.
Meanwhile, you've been able to get the card since it became in available in August for Pocket PCs, along with drivers for 2002 and 2003 devices that support SDIO. That is but one example. Want multimedia? You get Windows Media Player on approximately 100% of Pocket PCs. On Palm devices, you might get a multimedia player, it might be in RAM or ROM and it might be one of any number of third party products on the CD that comes with the device. Versatile, or just confusing?
How about voice recording? How about Office compatibility? How about full screen handwriting recognition? How about multitasking? Oh, never mind. You don't get that on any Palm device, simulated multitasking notwithstanding. :wink: What do you think? I know you want some more innovation in hardware. We all do. Would you give up some of the simplicity and comfort we currently have being able to switch from device to device at will and know that a base set of features, a rich base set of features, will be on any device carrying the Windows Mobile logo? Can you imagine the level of frustration a user might experience if their favorite software program didn't run on their new Pocket PC because the OEM modified the OS as Garmin did to PalmOS? I know as an MVP I'm glad that the only thing I have to keep up with as far as hardware goes is what extras the OEMs pack in. I don't have to worry about which spreadsheet product comes with each device or which ones support voice recording and what apps are used to do the recording.
I think the iPAQ 4300 series with the integrated keyboard is among the first in a series of hardware releases that begins to break the mold that Pocket PCs have been cast in. This is what OEM's design departments are screaming to do. Let Microsoft keep control of the OS. It makes it easier all around. I'll venture to say we'll have some pretty impressive and innovative hardware long before Palm gets the universality back in their platform that they haven't seen since Palm OS 3.5.
"While Palms are evolving into new and intriguing shapes, handhelds using rival Microsoft's Pocket PC software seem stuck in a rut. There are dozens of strikingly similar Pocket PCs that basically come in two flavors: those that double as phones and those that don't. The result is that consumers looking for the most innovative products are going to find a lot more to choose from in the world of Palms. For example, the first Pocket PCs with built-in keyboards are just starting to appear -- two years later than in Palm-based products...There's a downside to all this creativity in Palmland. A game created for the zodiac won't run on any other product, in part because Tapwave uses a unique, PC-like video adapter to get maximum performance in action games. Garmin modified the operating system itself, a step Microsoft would never allow, to get better GPS performance. "It's slightly chaotic in the short run," says PalmSource CEO David Nagel. But, he adds, everyone benefits when individual licensees' improvements are rolled into the next version of the PalmSource software."
No one questions that some PalmOS devices are really cool in their designs, but ask the average person to pick out a PalmOS device with features X, Y and Z and they will be stumped, standing at the CompUSA PDA counter like a kid in front of a candy stand trying to pick just one candy bar. Take WiFi for example. With the exception of the iPAQ 1910 and maybe a low end Toshiba or two, there aren't many Pocket PCs that aren't WiFi capable. More and more have it integrated, but those that don't can slap in any number of compact flash or SDIO WiFi cards and be up and running within a few minutes of installing drivers. Palm OS devices? Yeah, most have SDIO or other IO capable slots, yet the diversity of devices is making writing drivers difficult. San Disk has given up on WiFi for the millions of Palm OS 4 devices like the M500 series. They are trying to get the SDIO WiFi card working on Palm OS 5 devices but have delayed 4 times. Now it will be Q1 2004. San Disk has removed all evidence from their web site that they are even working on a Palm OS version of the product, presumably so they can quit postponing it and just release it whenever, if ever, it is done.
Meanwhile, you've been able to get the card since it became in available in August for Pocket PCs, along with drivers for 2002 and 2003 devices that support SDIO. That is but one example. Want multimedia? You get Windows Media Player on approximately 100% of Pocket PCs. On Palm devices, you might get a multimedia player, it might be in RAM or ROM and it might be one of any number of third party products on the CD that comes with the device. Versatile, or just confusing?
How about voice recording? How about Office compatibility? How about full screen handwriting recognition? How about multitasking? Oh, never mind. You don't get that on any Palm device, simulated multitasking notwithstanding. :wink: What do you think? I know you want some more innovation in hardware. We all do. Would you give up some of the simplicity and comfort we currently have being able to switch from device to device at will and know that a base set of features, a rich base set of features, will be on any device carrying the Windows Mobile logo? Can you imagine the level of frustration a user might experience if their favorite software program didn't run on their new Pocket PC because the OEM modified the OS as Garmin did to PalmOS? I know as an MVP I'm glad that the only thing I have to keep up with as far as hardware goes is what extras the OEMs pack in. I don't have to worry about which spreadsheet product comes with each device or which ones support voice recording and what apps are used to do the recording.
I think the iPAQ 4300 series with the integrated keyboard is among the first in a series of hardware releases that begins to break the mold that Pocket PCs have been cast in. This is what OEM's design departments are screaming to do. Let Microsoft keep control of the OS. It makes it easier all around. I'll venture to say we'll have some pretty impressive and innovative hardware long before Palm gets the universality back in their platform that they haven't seen since Palm OS 3.5.
