Palm Fights Back (against Apple)

[Charlyee]

Palm fights back (against Apple)
The beleaguered handset maker says its new smartphone, the Pre, is an iPhone killer. Apple isn't laughing.
May 26, 2009: 4:16 AM ET


(Fortune Magazine) -- Not much rattles Apple. Disciplined and focused, the company lavishes attention on its own elegant products and rarely deigns to discuss rivals. Yet here was Tim Cook, Apple's chief operating officer and designated stand-in for ailing CEO Steve Jobs, erupting during an earnings call in late January at the mere mention of a pip-squeak competitor.

The pest in question was Palm (PALM), the fallen pioneer of handheld digital organizers, which two weeks earlier had unveiled a new smartphone, the Palm Pre, to rave reviews. Not only did the Pre have features the iPhone couldn't match - snazzy multitasking, universal search, a drop-down keyboard - but it also showed the kind of multitouch screen technology that Apple popularized with the iPhone. Cook didn't try to hide his annoyance. "We're going to go after anybody" who rips off Apple's technology, he said. "We'll use whatever weapons we have at our disposal."

Open hostility from the world's hottest tech company cuts two ways for Palm, which says its years in the mobile business have produced plenty of patents of its own. On the plus side, Apple's obsession with the Pre makes it look as though the little company may have a winner on its hands. (Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) is 25 times the size of Palm, which had $1.3 billion in 2008 revenue.)


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[Jay2TheRescue]

Hostile takeover anyone??? That's how General Electric would handle it...

[Matt]

I don't think Apple is interested in Palm, or really cares. Apple's brand is powerful enough that they can offer a mix of "latest" features in their devices while lagging in other areas (no MMS in the current iPhones, for example). They offer, to many, a superior user experience that affords them a loyal following and an ability to charge a premium price. If the Pre has something Apple wants, they'll just incorporate a similar feature and move on.

[SteveW]

Interesting article. Apple understands the power of industry buzz and feels compelled to comment, even though hardly anyone has touched or reviewed the Pre. Fortune was right to point out that there has been a lot of back and forth employee swapping over the years. Apple took a lot of employees from Palm when Apple was on the rise and Palm was stagnating. Now Palm has Jon Rubinstein, among others. This may be more personal than a true business challenge.

"Indeed, this spat goes way beyond competing companies and gadgets: It's deeply personal. One of Elevation's founding partners, Fred Anderson, was chief financial officer of Apple before retiring in 2004...Anderson had the bright idea of recruiting Jonathan Rubinstein to Palm. Rubinstein was an acolyte of Steve Jobs' for nearly two decades and was the executive acclaimed as the savior of the Macintosh and the father of the iPod...Anderson and McNamee contacted Rubinstein (who had retired) in April 2007, when the former Apple hardware chief's noncompete agreement with Apple expired."

"Retired" in this context, is a euphemism for "has so much money that he never has to work again". These guys are in this because it's a chance to do something interesting and to have an impact. They may ultimately fail, but it will not be for lack of effort or smarts.

Along with most people, I think the weakest link in all of this is Sprint. Fortune says this about that:

As for the choice of carriers, it's no surprise that Palm went with Sprint. AT&T (T, Fortune 500) and Verizon (VZ, Fortune 500) each had its megahit product already in the iPhone and the BlackBerry Storm, respectively. What's more, Palm had become increasingly reliant on Sprint. For Palm's year that ended last May, 41% of all its sales, smartphone and otherwise, came from Sprint. With both companies losing money and customers, the pair have increasingly come to look like perennially last-place baseball teams that can't seem to catch a break. Each thinks the new gizmo will change that. "The Palm Pre will be in a category by itself," says Kevin Packingham, a top Sprint executive responsible for devices....Another knock on Palm is that it's a local player in a global business. Some 80% of its sales are in the U.S., and even assuming the Pre is a success, Palm doesn't currently plan to market it in Asia, where it has no presence.

SW

[AnthroMatt]

I agree that Sprint will be a problem for many.

For Palm to attack Apple, while they bring to market a phone that, at least initially, will only be available to about 33 million people (since the rest of Sprint's 15 million customers are on iDEN and prepaid/MVNO services), is not the right move if you really want to change the landscape.

The BB Storm sold well for Verizon, but as quickly as the hype built up, it died. I think the same will be true for the Pre, if only because there will not be enough potential customers to start a craze. And VZW promoted the Storm well before its release. Sprint plans limited to no ads dedicated to the Pre because they won't have enough to meet demand. STUPID. Lack of availability will only increase the "longing" and "desire" to finally get one.

[Telekom]

Originally Posted by Charlyee

Palm fights back (against Apple)
The beleaguered handset maker says its new smartphone, the Pre, is an iPhone killer. Apple isn't laughing.
May 26, 2009: 4:16 AM ET


(Fortune Magazine) -- Not much rattles Apple. Disciplined and focused, the company lavishes attention on its own elegant products and rarely deigns to discuss rivals. Yet here was Tim Cook, Apple's chief operating officer and designated stand-in for ailing CEO Steve Jobs, erupting during an earnings call in late January at the mere mention of a pip-squeak competitor.

The pest in question was Palm (PALM), the fallen pioneer of handheld digital organizers, which two weeks earlier had unveiled a new smartphone, the Palm Pre, to rave reviews. Not only did the Pre have features the iPhone couldn't match - snazzy multitasking, universal search, a drop-down keyboard - but it also showed the kind of multitouch screen technology that Apple popularized with the iPhone. Cook didn't try to hide his annoyance. "We're going to go after anybody" who rips off Apple's technology, he said. "We'll use whatever weapons we have at our disposal."

Open hostility from the world's hottest tech company cuts two ways for Palm, which says its years in the mobile business have produced plenty of patents of its own. On the plus side, Apple's obsession with the Pre makes it look as though the little company may have a winner on its hands. (Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) is 25 times the size of Palm, which had $1.3 billion in 2008 revenue.)


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Interesting that they think by one device Palm's going to go from the bottom of the heap to the new king of the hill.

[viewfly]

I think that someone who is with Sprint will be very happy to get the Pre, if they have been interested in the iPhone-type model, but didn't wish to switch to ATT. It looks like a nice phone, with a lot of the iPhone features and ideas, even down to direct copies of screen backgrounds ( the small grey stones is just like my iPhone). I think it will also attract people you just cannot get use to the soft keyboard, and those that have been using Palm applications that they will to continue with.

And direct feature copies or feel is probably the source of the annoyance for Apple, not the Pre itself, nor does Apple (or ATT) think that customers will run to Sprint from ATT( people underestimate the power of the iPod-iTunes link with the iPhone). There always is irritation among companies for the lack of employee or executive loyalty when they leave or retire, and I think Apple believes itself 'special' in that regard. I do see a lot of little features that are really cool, the kind you already see on the iPhone, or expect to see in the future. Nothing worse than having creative execs walk away with knowledge of future inside design possibilities and helping the competition out. But then it gets very personal as SteveW said, and attacks that are out of whack with business realities.

Clearly some of the ways they swipe windows away, or use the calendar is more 'apple' like than one expected from Palm. That probably really bugs Apple insiders. So I think it's more of a personality issue

But after watching the Pre videos I don't see evidence of the 'multi touch' display that seems to have prompted the strong response from Apple. I didn't see any example of the two finger 'zoom' which I think Apple feels they have 'IP' on, at least for a mobile phone. ( it's not important if it is used on a pc in this legal case). So if that is the point of contention, is there really one? If there is one, that received the correct response from Apple.

Personally, I could never see myself moving to Sprint for this very nice phone. Also, I'm done with any slider phone, after seeing my Nokia's slider fall apart in less than one year, and the general annoyance of sliding all the time to type a simple message. But that is just my personal needs and experience.

With the Pre, one can rotate the phone to horizontal for video, web browsing , etc, but how does one type text then? Most of my browsing occurs in horizontal mode, and to respond (ie to WA), the soft keyboard is also horizontal. I only see the vertical pop out keyboard.Is there a soft one also? That is a big practical drawback for me, but perhaps not for all.

But alas, the phone is not even ready yet, so the hardware/software bugs have yet to be fleshed out. I have noticed that all the current smartphones have become very 'plastic' looking, especially in the smart keys and keyboards. It is mostly eye candy for me, but I'd be curious to see how the Pre is in this regard. Although I cover up some of the metal parts of the iPhone, I enjoy the feel and looks of the metal bands, rings, and soft keys on the side and top. It's far removed from the 'plastic metal' of the phones I see today.

If the unlocked GSM version of the Pre come out, that would be remarkable for those users on other carriers. Could the CDMA Pre be used with Verizon? What would that take to happen?

[AnthroMatt]

Originally Posted by viewfly

With the Pre, one can rotate the phone to horizontal for video, web browsing , etc, but how does one type text then? Most of my browsing occurs in horizontal mode, and to respond (ie to WA), the soft keyboard is also horizontal. I only see the vertical pop out keyboard.Is there a soft one also? That is a big practical drawback for me, but perhaps not for all.

Yes, there is supposed to be an on-screen keyboard as well. The physical keyboard is there mainly to attract those people that are not willing to switch to a device that lacks one.

[Charlyee]

Originally Posted by viewfly

If the unlocked GSM version of the Pre come out, that would be remarkable for those users on other carriers. Could the CDMA Pre be used with Verizon? What would that take to happen?

Rumor has it that the WCDMA/GSM version is in the works and will be launched shortly after the CDMA version to markets outside the US. Does this mean that there will be an unlocked version available for use in the US, I would presume so.

I am with you on sliders, I just do not like them, it is bar phones all the way for me.

As to using the Sprint version on Verizon, I believe at this time that will not be possible.

PS: The Pre is Web OS based, it is entirely different from Palm OS and as far as I know none of the existing Palm OS applications would work on it.

[Yankees368]

Originally Posted by AnthroMatt

Yes, there is supposed to be an on-screen keyboard as well. The physical keyboard is there mainly to attract those people that are not willing to switch to a device that lacks one.

Bingo, just like me. Since i started with the Sprint Mogul, and now the touch pro, I will not switch back to a device without a qwerty KB. I do like having a hard KB, as well as an on screen KB at the same time, as I use both frequently.

The only problem with a slider is when the screen needs to re-orient itself. Just like on my mogul & TP, it sometiems takes way too much time to rotate the screen, which the pre will not have to do. That is a big plus for me.

[AnthroMatt]

Originally Posted by Charlyee

PS: The Pre is Web OS based, it is entirely different from Palm OS and as far as I know none of the existing Palm OS applications would work on it.

Yes and no. No current Palm OS app will run natively in WebOS, but the Pre will ship with a "virtual machine" program capable of running apps designed for the PalmOS.

[Charlyee]

Originally Posted by AnthroMatt

Yes and no. No current Palm OS app will run natively in WebOS, but the Pre will ship with a "virtual machine" program capable of running apps designed for the PalmOS.

You are right, I stand corrected. Here is some information on it.


Palm Pre Will Run Classic Palm OS Applications

[SteveW]

Originally Posted by AnthroMatt

...the Pre will ship with a "virtual machine" program capable of running apps designed for the PalmOS.

The rumors mills indicated that this was going to be the emulator made by StyleTap, but I couldn't confirm this in a quick check of the StyleTap site. In fact, there is a blog item from January that indicates that the "PalmOS Emulator" is likely not from StyleTap.

Thanks Charlyee, for pointing out that the emulator (which they call "Classic") is actually from MotionApps. I had forgotten this.

Gizmodo has a picture of the emulator along with lots of other pictures of apps on the Pre. If the Pre, with the emulator included, had come out 6 months ago on T-Mo (or even AT&T) I might have gone for it.


SW

[viewfly]

Originally Posted by AnthroMatt

Yes, there is supposed to be an on-screen keyboard as well. The physical keyboard is there mainly to attract those people that are not willing to switch to a device that lacks one.

Yes, I thought so too. But I watch every video clip on the palm web site, and saw nothing about an on screen keyboard. That surprised me. All the demos use the hard kb. One would think that they would advertise that.