He's right!
I have access to a Handspring because my girlfriend bought one as soon as
she saw a color model.
I am programming a game for the Palm OS because it has color (tiles are
color and pattern distinguished). I wouldn't bother in a 2bit color system,
altho I might be writing a databases app like a better phone book...
So from my example, Palm has gained a user and a programmer because
Handspring went with color. And wireless, she loves to jot memos and email
me via BugMe! software. This is VERY appropriately named software! She loves
it.
Now if they would only get real about memory - 256MB would be nice.
-Nullife
snip
>
> >Over a year ago, I said that Palm would have to bend to market demands
> >for Color, sound and other features offered by the PocketPC. Many of
> >the palm supporters and some employees of Palm said I was all wet.
>
> Great.
>
> >Well, I have just read an article in the news that says that the B/W
> >models are falling by the wasteside in favor of the color devices.
>
> Thanks for the link to this informative article. Personally, I still
> prefer to trade battery life and cost for color. In addition, I have
> yet to meet anyone who purchased a color Palm or expressed sharp
> interest in color.
>
> >I also just returned from a 30 day trip to Japan. What I found was that
> >every child over the age of 12 had a cell phone with full color
> >displays. The #1 way of accessing the internet in Japan is via these
> >high tech Color Phones.
>
> The primary market for PalmOS devices and software is not Japanese
> children. I love my cell phone, and even use it to access the internet,
> but I don't think a color phone would help me much, and I pray that
> our network infrastructure never decays to the point that this becomes
> my "#1 way of accessing the internet."
>
> >If Palm does not improve their OS (more file oriented) and offer more
>
> Why does the OS need to be more file oriented? I ask this in all
> seriousness because you gloss over this assertion and I truly don't
> understand how this would benefit users or developers. The DataManager
> functions may be a little confusing to new developers, but once you
> look at examples it's not a big deal. Do user's want to stick floppies
> in their Palm. Is this another Japanese thing, because I only know
> what I see on Iron Chef?
>
> >Color and sound options, they will cease to exist in a couple of years.
> >The user market is demanding Color, Sound, Wireless.
>
> Palm can hardly give away their wireless unit, but maybe it's because
> they don't have color and sound. Wireless is important, but until the
> access cost comes down, I don't see this as a consumer priority.
>
> You're right about color and sound. Consumers want more flash, but
> recognize the trade-off. It costs memory, money, and processor cycles
> to get all those colors on the screen. I'd rather preserve all three
> and stick with a plain 2-bit display.
>
> It's not going to be easy for Palm. Guessing what consumers want and
> how much they are willing to pay is an ugly business, but I don't think
> Palm has a head-in-the-sand approach. Their latest offerings are
> pointed smack at the PocketPC crowd, but I'd like to see them continue
> to own the low end market. An 8 MB Palm V at around $150 might get new
> users hooked. Let them upgrade to color and sound when they're ready
> to spend more money.
>
> - Ed
>
>
>
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