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All posts tagged "webos"


Wednesday, August 17, 2011

A Mobility Market Crystal Ball

Posted by Brad Wasson in "Windows Phone Talk" @ 06:00 PM

http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/17/...hifting-mobile/

"In two years, we'll mark the thirtieth anniversary of the first commercially available cellphone -- built by Motorola, incidentally. Given this week's big news from Google, and other big events that we can only presume are yet to come, those two years may also prove to be some of the most interesting yet for the mobile industry."

If you read this site regularly then you likely enjoy tracking the mobility market and smartphone industry. In all of technology could there be more interesting and as fast changing sectors as these? We all tend to speculate these days on RIM's future, Google's moves, and Microsoft's challenges, not to mention the plethora of Android devices that are continually released. The folks over at Engadget must feel much the same. Donald Melanson posted an editorial today, citing statistics from such stalwarts as Gartner and Nielsen regarding the smartphone market. He speculates on what changes we might see in the future. What do you think of Microsoft buying HTC? What about HP getting out of the smartphone business? Where will Dell settle it's focus in the future? There are some juicy statistics and interesting ideas proposed in the editorial, not to mention in the comments from readers. It's a fun piece to peruse, and will stimulate debate for, well, at least another 24 hours or the next major market development, whichever comes first.


Monday, May 16, 2011

Palm: The Rise and Fall of a Legend

Posted by Jason Dunn in "Windows Phone Articles & Resources" @ 09:00 AM

http://www.maximumtech.com/palm-ris...legend?page=0,0

"I was there, when the Pilot landed. It was the summer of 1996, and the US Robotics Pilot 5000 had just arrived in the bootLab (‘boot Magazine' was the then-newly-launched precursor to Maximum PC). With unprecedented ferocity, we editors were fighting gladiator style for dibs on reviewing this tiny bit of pocket-sized plastic with its dingy monochrome screen. Not even the latest uber-PC or 3D graphics card generated such editorial lust."

Although it feels like ancient history now, it was only a few years ago that neither the iPhone, nor Android, existed and the smartphone wars were fought between the likes of Palm, Microsoft, and RIM. It's amazing how fast things change. This article, written by Chris Dunphy - a fellow I had a good natured rivalry with back in 2001 - covers the inception of Palm, the effective dissolution of Palm (some might say multiple times), and everything in between. It's an excellent read and gives some insight into what Palm did, and didn't do, right.


Monday, February 7, 2011

WebOS vs. Windows Phone 7: Fight!

Posted by Jason Dunn in "Windows Phone News" @ 09:08 PM

http://blog.laptopmag.com/os-bowl-f...day-28-at-9-a-m

"HP's webOS trounced Nokia's Meego in the first round, then fought off a more determined Android in the semis to make it to the final. On the other side of the bracket, Windows Phone 7 got past BlackBerry 6 before thoroughly trouncing Apple's iOS in the last round with more than 80 percent of the vote. So after taking on two giants in this field, the last OSes standing are ready to go gridiron."

Voting ends soon, and WebOS is ahead by a couple of percentage points - jump on to the poll and vote!


Monday, June 28, 2010

The Smartphone Industry is About to Get a Whole Lot More Interesting

Posted by Brad Wasson in "Windows Phone Talk" @ 07:00 AM

What an interesting year in the smartphone industry we are embarking on now. In the very near future we'll see Windows Phone 7 hardware in the hands of developers and, undoubtedly, many analysts and industry watchers. We'll start to get impressions on just how innovative this platform will be, its usability, and whether or not it will win over the plaudits of smartphone enthusiasts. We'll also see new hardware and software releases of the Palm WebOS platform once HP officially gets closes its acquisition and makes its first mark. We'll see whether RIM can modernize its smartphone OS and finally deliver a workable browser. We'll also see if these rumours of a BlackBerry tablet have any substance, and if so, whether anyone really wants a BlackBerry companion. We'll watch the steady progression of Android devices as they try to take on the iPhone and gain market share. Will there be unexpected surprises? You bet. What will happen with MeeGo? Can Nokia produce a platform that will appeal to North American businesses and consumers?

Of course, watching and seeing how Microsoft's mobile strategy plays out will be a critical endeavour. Is Microsoft driving the smartphone industry? Not at present, but you can be sure Apple, RIM, Google and other platform providers are paying attention. This is one industry segment where Microsoft is not an island against which getting a beachhead is near impossible. However, if Microsoft can make good on the seemingly tangible opportunity to connect and combine its treasure trove of services and enabling platforms, then we could see a formidable new platform emerge. Having an outright success with wave one - Windows Phone 7 for the consumer - will be essential. Is the pressure on Microsoft? No question about it.


Tuesday, April 13, 2010

HTC Considers Its Own Smartphone Platform

Posted by Ed Hansberry in "Windows Phone Competition" @ 01:00 PM

http://www.phonescoop.com/news/item.php?n=5814

It seems HTC is considering its own mobile platform, because, well, you know, there aren't enough choices out there. I can just imagine the ideas flowing in a brainstorming session on how to grow the company:

Creative Guy #1: So, how can we get more market share? This whole Microsoft partnership hasn't panned out so well for us the last year or so.

Creative Guy #2: Let's buy Palm. I hear they are for sale. We can work with WebOS.

Creative Guy #3: No, WebOS is old news. I know, let's create a NEW PLATFORM! We'll be the exclusive providers and make a mint!

Group nods in assent, pats each other on the back and goes out for pizza.

Now it is possible it didn't' quite happen this way, Whatever really happened, it must have been equally strange. We have today six major smartphone platforms - iPhone, Android, WebOS, Windows Mobile/Phone, Blackberry, and though I hesitate to add them because almost no one ever installs a third party app on it, Symbian. Now, let's not forget that Samsung is doing their own OS called Bada, a name that has an extraneous vowel at the end of it in my opinion. There is also Moblin and Maemo which are merging into MeeGo.

Furthermore, while I like HTC hardware, their UI enhancements leave a lot to be desired. There are maddening inconsistencies in how TouchFlo 3D works, especially those that remove good features in Windows Mobile. HTC is not, in my opinion, the one that should be coming up with an all new OS and UI. This is yet another reason they should just buy Palm and be done with it.

On top of all of this, we have super powerful feature phones and devices like the Kin, which target very specific audiences. The market needs consolidation, not more "me too" operating systems. What do you think? Do you generally like the idea that smartphone makers are turning out operating systems faster than GM can design cars that buyers want, or do you think the market needs to consolidate on three or four major platforms?


Friday, September 18, 2009

Palm Focuses On WebOS - Drops Windows Mobile

Posted by Ed Hansberry in "Pocket PC Competition" @ 06:30 AM

"Due to importance of webOS to our overall strategy, we've made the decision to dedicate all future development resources to the evolution of webOS. Which means that going forward, our roadmap will include only Palm webOS-based devices."

And with that statement at the recent Palm earnings announcement, Palm Chairman Jon Rubinstein killed off any PalmOS and Windows Mobile devices for the future. This is not unexpected. PalmOS was at the end of its life about four years ago. That is why they started using Windows Mobile in the first place. The enterprise customer needed something more robust. Now that WebOS has launched, Palm thinks it has the answer and will focus solely on that platform.

What do you think? Will the loss of Palm from Microsoft Windows Mobile licensees hurt MS in any way or will Palm vanish virtually unnoticed?

Tags: treo, palm, webos

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

How Microsoft Intends to Regain Lost Ground In Mobile Territory

Posted by Darius Wey in "Pocket PC Talk" @ 08:55 PM

http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9595_22-264314.html

"Microsoft has made some stumbles in the mobile world, but a strategy shift made more than a year ago will soon pay dividends, the company's top Windows Mobile executive said in an interview with CNET News. Andy Lees, the executive brought over from the server unit a year ago, said that Microsoft's efforts to make sure that its mobile software could run on a wide range of phones resulted in an operating system that failed to take advantage of advances in hardware. "We aimed to go for a lower common denominator," Lees said. Microsoft was also limited by the origins of Windows Mobile, which was developed to power handheld computers that neither connected to a network nor handled voice. "We started out when we were in PDAs (personal digital assistants) and then a phone got strapped to the back of the PDA," Lees said. The company also failed to recognize that phones--even those that were used for business--were still as much personal as they were professional."

The first four paragraphs of the CNET/ZDNet article accurately highlight some of Windows Mobile's flaws, and why the once-venerable smartphone operating system, at times, appears feeble next to relative newcomers, iPhone OS, Android, and webOS. But it's not all doom and gloom for Microsoft. According to Andy Lees, we'll see some breakthroughs over the next 18 months, with the first set expected as soon as mid-February as Microsoft takes the stage at MWC. Lees hinted at an increased reliance on the cloud, the need to improve the core of Windows Mobile in order to keep up with the competition, and a closer relationship with OEMs (which we can only hope translates to more frequent and more consistent updates for all consumers).

Is this the right approach? Sound off in this thread.


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