Suggestions: What Palm should do to overpass competition?

[AKITAYO]

Suggestions: What Palm should do to overpass competition?

OK guys, this is my first time that I am very worried about Palm future. As an International Palm devices user I have been delighted the before decade by great Palm PDA and Treo performance and international support.

Now, we are in a new era of Multitouch smartphones.

The following chart that is over all sites on the internet is showing a comparison between 4 smartphones.

Not considering apps quantity, that all we know it will take at least a year to have 10.000.

What is Palm missing?
Whats wrong with their marketing department?
What are they expecting for a Palm Web OS 16GB launch smartphone?
Do you think the sd card slot is standard for phones, that Palm should considerer?

What do you think?

[TheVoiceofReason]

To be honest, Palm needs their own version of Mark Cuban. By that, I mean they need a superfan with the expendable capital to buy the company and push it in a user/fan friendly direction. Putting out 8GB devices is a mistake, and they absolutely should have kept the micro SD slots from the previous generations. Palm OS Classic should be free, to attract previous Palm owners to upgrade, giving them much needed cash.

Above all else, they need money. Badly.

[Shaun0207]

I've been wondering the samething. I started a thread similar to this about the major app makers or developers not supporting WebOS yet.

I think the need to:
1. Get the Pre on VZW and AT&T
2. Major OS update to 2.0 by January - they need to included all the tweaks and patches that are found in Preware, Video Recording, A File Manager and Bluetooth Transfers.
3. Major Advertising Campaign - get rid of those bull*** commercials and get some good commercials with the Pre out in the hands of celebs. Possibly give Pre's away as a gift at the next awards show.
4. Release a NEW SDK with no limits!
5. Get Webos into the Foleos and have them on the market by Feb.
6. Get LG and Sanyo making new WebOS devices - HTC, Samsung and Moto have trhow alot of support behind WM and Andropid. But LG & Sanyo are quite at this point.
7. Make and announcment that they will have a new device following the Pixi's release and on the market by Xmas.


@ TheVoiceofReason - Great points. Palm OS Classic should be free.

[Shaun0207]

Where is that Palm Feedback link?

[chris]

I have so many thoughts on this....let's start with this one, not in order.

Take a page from RIM on carrier strategy. They offer exclusives on some devices, but some are available across the board. You can buy a Curve from any carrier and it's either free or cheap. The more devices, the more interest there will be in developing for the webOS platform. If the Pixi sits with Sprint for the next 6 months, it will lose it's appeal. Throw WiFi in it and get it released on AT&T, Verizon and even T-Mobile. Let the carriers fight over price --- and hope they release it at $49-$99 (without the need for rebate).

On AT&T, the iPhone 3G (with WiFi) is $99. Forgetting about the Apps situation for a moment, I think there is a strong market for front facing QWERTY buyers. You can no longer compete on price, but you can be competitive. $49-$99 is competitive.

If they release the existing Palm Pre (8GB) on Verizon for $199 sometime next year, I think they risk getting lost in the shuffle. RIM's Storm2, Motorola DROID make for a crowded field.

Plenty of other thoughts....but that's my first suggestion.

[Shaun0207]

Originally Posted by chris

I have so many thoughts on this....let's start with this one, not in order.

Take a page from RIM on carrier strategy. They offer exclusives on some devices, but some are available across the board. You can buy a Curve from any carrier and it's either free or cheap. The more devices, the more interest there will be in developing for the webOS platform. If the Pixi sits with Sprint for the next 6 months, it will lose it's appeal. Throw WiFi in it and get it released on AT&T, Verizon and even T-Mobile. Let the carriers fight over price --- and hope they release it at $49-$99 (without the need for rebate).

On AT&T, the iPhone 3G (with WiFi) is $99. Forgetting about the Apps situation for a moment, I think there is a strong market for front facing QWERTY buyers. You can no longer compete on price, but you can be competitive. $49-$99 is competitive.

If they release the existing Palm Pre (8GB) on Verizon for $199 sometime next year, I think they risk getting lost in the shuffle. RIM's Storm2, Motorola DROID make for a crowded field.

Plenty of other thoughts....but that's my first suggestion.

All great point, Chris. Which is why if Palm is smart, they will offer the Pre before Xmas on VZW and undercut the prices of the new phones coming out. AT&T is perfect choice for the GSM Pre , but they need it out by Dec. 1st to make any real money before the year is over. The Pixi not having Wifi in this day and age makes it a bust. I dont think they are gonna sell very many of those. Palm has to put out a major update before the year is out on the current Spring Pre. No getting aroudn that or everyone is gonna jump ship.

BTW; Has Palm abandon the Treo line? The Treo Pro is nice, but I think they need to have a Treo with WebOS too.

[chris]

Originally Posted by Shaun0207

All great point, Chris. Which is why if Palm is smart, they will offer the Pre before Xmas on VZW and undercut the prices of the new phones coming out. AT&T is perfect choice for the GSM Pre , but they need it out by Dec. 1st to make any real money before the year is over. The Pixi not having Wifi in this day and age makes it a bust. I dont think they are gonna sell very many of those. Palm has to put out a major update before the year is out on the current Spring Pre. No getting aroudn that or everyone is gonna jump ship.

BTW; Has Palm abandon the Treo line? The Treo Pro is nice, but I think they need to have a Treo with WebOS too.

I don't have any insider information, but I don't think you'll see any new releases from Palm this year. January at CES will the next big stage for Palm.

The Treo brand name could make a comeback, but I doubt it. The new group at Palm is breaking away from Palm's past. I'd love to see a top of the line webOS device under the Treo brand, for nostalgia reasons if nothing else.

Curious to see where they go next year. You've got the Pre and a low-end Pixi. Are we going to see a new third brand? Will that occupy the top of the line above the Pre? Will it be a Pre Pro?

[Shaun0207]

Originally Posted by chris

I don't have any insider information, but I don't think you'll see any new releases from Palm this year. January at CES will the next big stage for Palm.

The Treo brand name could make a comeback, but I doubt it. The new group at Palm is breaking away from Palm's past. I'd love to see a top of the line webOS device under the Treo brand, for nostalgia reasons if nothing else.

Curious to see where they go next year. You've got the Pre and a low-end Pixi. Are we going to see a new third brand? Will that occupy the top of the line above the Pre? Will it be a Pre Pro?

Yeah, I'm not expecting any new devices this year. But I'd love to see one. I'm really hoping a that they have something good at CES. There are alot of Treo fans out there and I think they need to continue that line. A new great WM & WebOS Treo. A Pre Pro sounds about right. I said that mabybe teh next PRe would be a Pro version. With alot of new feature and business functions.

[DeveloperDavid]

It seems to me like if palm has been playing catch up on the hardware side. They never try to surpass the hardware of other devices. 8 gigs in not competitive anymore. 3mp camera with no video is not competitive anymore. No Magnetic compass sensor is not competitive anymore. No Expandable memory. WebOS operating system is great in my opinion, but they are lacking on the hardware side. If the competition has a 3mp camera, palm should have a 5mp. If competition has 32 gig of memory, palm should have 32 gig internal and a micro SD slot. They need to outdo their competition instead of trying to match them. Hardware durability should be a given. I knew 4 people that were waiting for the release of the pixi and now that it is known that they don't have wifi they have moved onto other phones with better hardware. Overall I love my pre, but I know that they need to make some hardware improvements if they want to remain competitive. WebOS is getting better with every update and in contrast to my Windows Mobile 6.5 phone the WebOS operating system is way way nicer.

[AKITAYO]

What about the battery?