[hparsons]

So, what IS so special about Palm smartphones?

If the answer is "multitasking" or "cards" or "synergy" then Palm is going to continue going down the toilet. The iPhone "On Hold" commercial shows off multitasking in a much more compelling way than Palm ever has. Everyone else touts their own form of synergy with social networking. Finally, cards is a user interface that people here might really like but isn't a home run.

Again, what is so special about a Palms smartphone compared to the other phones that Sprint, Verizon or AT&T have?

"Continue going down the toilet"?

Really, that's your contention? Do you really believe that Palm is worse off now than they were a year ago?

[hparsons]

...
I totally agree with this article. Palm needs to hire some proficient firm to step up to the plate. There is no reason this phone shouldn't have a great image rather than some freaky girl talking about zen qualities.

I think that may be the heart of it. Spend some big bucks on a truly successful marketing company.

[PookiePrancer]

No one has ever seen my Pre and not been wowed by it; from the software, to the hardware. Two problems, though: they either don't want Sprint (which may not be much of an issue by year's end (Verizon's a recent development)), or their brains are SO wired to the iphone that they won't consider anything else, no matter how much better the alternative may be. It's mind-boggling, especially considering the savings with Sprint's plans, but I guess that's the power of Apple's advertising success.

[kkumar99]

really a great article...I've thought for a long time that Palm should spin off the "i'm a mac/i'm a pc" ads to show all the things the pre can do that the iphone can't. I think the irony would be fantastic. It would also hit directly at the pre capabilities while getting people to realize that the iphone isn't the end all be all of phones...droid has done the the second part to some extent.

[hparsons]

Yes. A year ago they were entering the bottom of the ninth inning. Now they have two strikes.

Guess it's all a matter of opinion. I'd say more along the lines of they pushed it into overtime, where before everyone was leaving the stands calling it a game.

[Tiddlekins]

Yes. A year ago they were entering the bottom of the ninth inning. Now they have two strikes.

Guess it's all a matter of opinion. I'd say more along the lines of they pushed it into overtime, where before everyone was leaving the stands calling it a game.

Guys, what the hell is this? Please use car analogies instead of sports analogies.

[DougFNJ]

That was a very accurate article. The initial buzz on the product was spawned by the release demonstration. "Live Cards" excellent web on a non GSM device, Synergy partuclarly with messaging, form factor, hardware keyboard....etc. Palm didn't really do a lot to feed that buzz.

Then it went for sale with next to no marketing and stocked stores with little inventory and no live devices to play with followed by long waits for inventory to stock again. This initial horribly done release left a bad taste in a lot of peoples mouths.

So now it goes to Verizon and they give us "Mom" commercials that were more annoying than informative. The latest commercial is as good as the Storm 2 commercial....just a quick rundown of features leaving people thinking, "is it like the Droid?" They go to the store and have Verizon sales people pushing them away from Palm and talking up the Droid which equals plebty of lost sales. They really need to step it up.

I think they are still living off the past with the Palm devices that served such a great need on a great simple exclusive device. You had 2 choices, a buggy clunky Windows Mobile device that wouldnt last a day on battery, or a simple Palm device that had great form factor, simple OS, and battery could last for months. It was easy to keep the marketshare when you really had nobody else playing in the market.

You would think Rubinstein would had taken some very successful lessons from Apple and apply it to Palm

I'm curious where they go from here. The good thing is, you can't keep a good product down....anyone remember a few years ago when Palm was a penny stock before they reverse split?

[Minsc]

For example, take multi-tasking. Apple has some great ads that run pointing out that their iPhone can multi-task by surfing the web while on a call. They create a user need (get into while on call) then solve it for the customer all in 30 seconds. Very powerful. Now when a sales rep says, "Well, the Pre can really multitask well!" the customer will say, "Oh, cool. Can I access the web while on a call?"

Yep, Apple's iPhone commercials are fantastic in that regard. 2 things Palm needs to advertise: (in addition to the cards)

1. Notifications. Easy, elegant, doesn't clutter your view/less distracting, etc.
2. Touchstone. Sounds simple, but this has a definite wow factor for many people.

[sorli]

Checked out this am...great article and good reference info and videos. I also agree that the Windows mobile 7 is simply a pre-run mockup, but if they make it happen it will standout.

Engadget Podcast 185 from last week also spoke about Palm's recent stumbles and was very interesting hearing the guys get all passionate on what Palm needs to do.

I'm hoping they write Palm another letter and lay it down in Black and White like they did the Foleo three or so years ago.

I'm just hopeful and praying that Palm is paying attention. Sorli...