Looking down Palm Road...

Since the introduction of the Apple iPhone, I've been contemplating my future with Palm. Will I stay with them or will I move on to another device. Currently, I own a Palm Lifedrive that is 20 months old. Usually, I would have upgraded to a different device, but Palm has not deliver a device that I would want to upgrade to. Just over 6 months ago, I wrote an article here at Palm Addict entitled "Why I will not buy another Palm PDA". Here is the first sentence of that article:

"I have come to a major decision in my Palming experience. I will not buy another Palm PDA... at least until Palm Inc devises or licenses a new Palm OS (think Palm OS II) or they reinvent the PDA."

Did you notice that last part? The task or job of reinventing the PDA/Smartphone should have already been accomplished by Palm. Now, there is that mysterious 3rd business rumor and maybe they are doing that with business. While that would be great and I'd be going crazy if Palm was working on that, that is not Palm's style. They have improved their devices a step at a time. (ex. Palm III, Palm IIIxe, T1, T2, T3, Tungsten E, Tungsten E2, T5, TX, etc.) Will Palm finally dish out that device that all dedicated Palm users have been waiting for? I hope that they do.

I want Palm to succeed, but I think Apple beat them to the punch with the Apple iPhone. I know many may question whether or not it is a reinvention, but you must admit that the device looks years ahead any other Palm smartphone or PDA device out there right now. When I first saw the Apple iPhone, I thought it look like something from a Star Trek episode. Palm doesn't have to mimic the Apple iPhone, but they do need to reinvent the look of their devices giving them a fresh, sleek, and attractive look. If Palm can deliver this device before the fall, I think Palm will be around for the next few years. If they can't, well let's not go there right now.

There are a couple positives to Palm's future. One of them is a new app still in development called Saguaro. This app claims to do just what I am asking Palm to do: reinvent the Palm device. Saguaro looks promising and I'm hoping this will be out before the Apple iPhone is released in June. I think Palm should seriously look at this app and talk with its developers about using this in future releases if Palm continues to use Palm OS Garnett. This would definitely help Palm produce a device that has some good looks to it and not look homely. Palm might have a device that can turn some heads. If you would like to see a video of this app in action, you can on the acclaimed YouTube.

The other positive is Palm should release a new Palm OS this year. If they don't... well we don't want to go there either. This is a must. I see no other way for Palm to stay around for the long term unless they develop and release this year the replacement for Palm OS Garnett. Combine a new OS and a newly designed device and many Palm Addicts will buy it! If you build and provide a new OS for it, they will come and buy! I'm telling you Palm is still the leader. The Apple iPhone at the moment is all hype (still looks great mind you, but we don't know enough about it to make a good judgment call on the device); Palm is tried and true. It gets the job done and offers tens of thousands of apps for your personal customization. Palm just needs to deliver this new OS to stay in the game.

I have no inside information or an informant that feeds me information. These are my observations and conclusions to the future of Palm. Don't get me wrong Palm has produced some great devices in recent times, but their golden years are over. They need to reinvent their product. Keep in mind, I'm just a Palm Addict who knows that Palm could well be on the ropes in the months to come and they've got to produce a sleeker, thinner, Palm device (be it a Treo or PDA) and brand spanking new OS for this year to remain in the game. You can continue to stay the same, but when everybody else has changed and you haven't; you'll be left behind and nobody will be around except for the cultists.