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Palm has dropped a new ad that you’re likely be seeing in heavy rotation on the major networks. In short, it’s good and really showcases the multi-tasking functionality of the Pre. It’s more about the webOS and in fact, no phones are to be seen at all in the ad.
Love it? Hate it? Let us know in the comments.
via PreCentral
Last night (and we’re serious when we say night), Palm released webOS 1.4, available as an OTA (over the air) update. Palm expects the update will be available soon on other networks. Palm has provided details on what you can expect from webOS 1.4.
Wake up to webOS 1.4? Let us know how it’s working for you?
via Palm’s Blog
Palm today revised their guidance for revenues for the quarter and year stating they will be “well below its previously forecasted range of $1.6 billion to $1.8 billion”. Palm expects that revenues for the third quarter of fiscal year 2010 will be in the range of $285 million to $310 million on a GAAP basis.
In a press release Palm states,
“Palm webOS is recognized as a groundbreaking platform that enables one of the best smartphone experiences available today, and our work to evolve the platform and bring industry-leading technology to market continues. However, driving broad consumer adoption of Palm products is taking longer than we anticipated,” said Jon Rubinstein, chairman and chief executive officer. “Our carrier partners remain committed, and we are working closely with them to increase awareness and drive sales of our differentiated Palm products.”
This comes on the heels of a report from the WSJ that Verizon was considering dropping the Palm phones due to disappointing sales. This news was sourced by an analyst who cites conversations with Verizon officials. To us, this doesn’t seem plausible. Both the Palm Pre Plus and Palm Pixi Plus have been out for roughly a month. It does raise concern that perhaps Verizon will not provide the marketing commitment necessary to help boost sales.
Last year was a bright year for Palm. They introduced a revolutionary new operating system and launched the first webOS device in June. Palm, not unlike Microsoft has done with Windows Phone Series 7, decided to cut ties with their old OS. Gartner has released a report that shows worldwide smartphone sales to end users based upon OS. With limited webOS device distribution, 2009 bears out some tough numbers, numbers that are surely to improve in 2010.
As noted, webOS accounts for 0.7% market share in 2009. Take into account that international roll-out didn’t occur until late in the year and Sprint was the exclusive (read: only) US carrier for 2009. With Verizon on board, an expected release on AT&T and even a rumored T-Mobile deal, 2010 should see a significant jump in the numbers. Palm has also increased the number of carrier partners internationally, which will also have a direct impact on market share for 2010.
With all the hype surrounding the Android OS, Google’s OS came in with just 3.9% market share, up from 0.5% in 2008. Symbian, RIM and iPhone OS led the way. Anyone venture to predict numbers for 2010?
Interesting events have occurred with myTether over the past few days since our article, “Is MyTether a Black-Eye for Homebrew“. PreCentral’s Jason Robitaille, also the author of webOS Quick Install, gave his blessing to myTether and also detailed some of the changes made by the developer.
Better still, with this version of MyTether, there’s no more wifi driver replacement. It now harnesses the Mobile Hotspot Linux daemon present in all webOS devices to get the Mobile Hotspot-like results in MyTether. As Palm is unlikely to kill their own Mobile Hotspot app, this route will likely, in turn, make MyTether lasting and reliable.
Earlier this week the developer of myTether, via their Twitter account, wrote “Palm, Inc. claims to PayPal that I’m infringing upon their intellectual property.. what IP did I infringe?” This brought concerns that perhaps this app wasn’t long for this world, given that it does directly compete with Palm’s Mobile Hotspot app.
It appears the changes made in myTether 2.1, as outlined by Robitaille, have put the developer back in the good graces of Palm. As per his tweet this afternoon, “IP issue with Palm, Inc. has been resolved. I had some old, unused files of Palm inside the service, from mytether 2.0.1. Removed them now.”
Looks to us like everything has been resolved both within the homebrew community and with Palm. Group hug?
UPDATE: Palm has not halted production. As per Engadget who spoke with Palm representatives, the company suspended production for the Chinese New Year.
There is a report out from OTR Global that three sources have confirmed that Palm has halted production of the Palm Pre, Palm Pre Plus, Palm Pixi and Palm Pixi Plus. According to BGR, one source was quoted as saying, “The decision is very sudden, and Foxconn was told to reduce all February Pre forecast to zero on Wednesday and nobody knows whether shipment will resume in March.”
Palm Inc. Alert
Palm Orders Production Halt of Pre and Pre+ in February
February 11, 2010
PALM, S, VZ, 2038 HK, 8078 TT
Sources: 3 sources Taiwan handset component supply chain (all repeats)
Key sources in the Taiwan handset supply chain said Palm Inc. has ordered assembler Foxconn International Holdings Co. Ltd. to suspend production of both the Pre and Pre+ in February. “The decision is very sudden, and Foxconn was told to reduce all February Pre forecast to zero on Wednesday and nobody knows whether shipment will resume in March,” said a key source. The source said the CDMA2000 Pre to Sprint and the CDMA2000 Pre+ to Verizon were affected.
Pixi Production Suspended Too?
One source said Palm also told Compal Communications Inc. to suspend shipment of the Pixi and Pixi+ in February, while another source said that production is still going ahead with the Pixi+ to Verizon, but actual delivery in February will amount to less than 5,000 units.
Reporter: Van Tran
Honestly, we’re not sure to what to make of the news. Even if new hardware were on the way, this seems pretty drastic. There were be plenty of speculation, but we’ll do our best to provide any news as it becomes available.
[via BGR]
Last week, myTether released an update to their application that added support for Verizon’s new Palm Pre Plus and Palm Pixi Plus. For those unfamiliar with the app, it allows you to utilize your Palm Pre Plus or Palm Pixi Plus as a wireless modem, allowing you to use your webOS device to connect a laptop to the Internet.
Avadis “Avie” Tevanian, Apple’s former Chief Software Technology Officer, has joined Elevation Partners as a Managing Director. He joins former Apple CFO Fred Anderson who is managing director at Elevation Partners. Of course, Elevation Partners are heavily invested in Palm. Current Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein is yet another former Apple employee.
[via TechCrunch]
Join us for live coverage of the Palm event at CES 2010. Coverage will begin shortly before 11:00 a.m PST or 2:00 pm EST at www.everythingpre.com/live. Use the reminder on the right to receive an event reminder. If for any reason we have trouble with our wireless coverage, you can follow live updates on our @everythingpre Twitter account.
Twitter announced the top trending terms for 2009, broken out by category. In the technology area, the Palm Pre was #6. Even more impressive, the Palm Pre was the only consumer electronics product in the group. Others included Snow Leopard, Google Wave, Windows 7 and other software products. Clearly, the buzz from CES 2009 helped to propel the Palm Pre to the tops in technology. Palm as a company has had a presence on Twitter, allowing customers to interact with the company, a move that certainly had a positive impact on their relationship with customers.
[via eGear]