I don't think Apple started much of anything other than what Apple does best - create a product that has some good features and good design, and then convince hoards of people to buy it. Blackberry certainly sold a ton before them albeit mainly to businesspeaple. I would almost argue that the lowly Tmobile Sidekick was the first nicely designed, although certainly crippled, "smartphone." It had email, Instant Messaging, Calendar, and Contacts, all synced to Danger's Server in the cloud, all starting in 2002! Tmobile owned a good part of Danger and so they really called the shots and idiotically decided to clamp down on a burgeoning app catalog harder than Apple ever did. I finally left in disgust after learning that the ability to synch with Outlook was out there and even offered on some non-US partnering carriers, but for some reason Tmobile would not let it exist here. They eventually did, from what I hear, but I was long gone. I think the problem was that they had already decided what the market should be - teens and 20-somethings who wouldn't be caught dead using such a geeky/techy product like Outlook. For some reason, actually offering something that might appeal to other demographics and widen its appeal were seen as a threat. It was ahead of its time but unfortunately killed by incompetence of corporate marketers making decisions rather than technical people responding to customer desires. Luckily that doesn't seem to be happening anywhere these days, so I guess the lesson was learned, but it did its casualties...
Levi Wallach blog: http://twelveblackcodemonkeys.com tweet me @dvdmon (http://twitter.com/dvdmon) On Sun, Aug 22, 2010 at 7:13 PM, Don Ferguson <[email protected]> wrote: > As someone who was very much in tune with what my requirements were when > moving to the Palm Pre and now the HTC EVO, I say this with some humility, > but it really doesn't matter what you want! The world has moved on (in the > Steven King sense, not the Moveon.org sense) and even Research in Motion is > moving along with it now. > > > > Apple started it: phones with amazing function that neglect the finer > points of some of the mature PIM apps that have been growing since 1996. > The Palm Pre follows that, and Android to some extent. The thing that's > happening, though, is that as more and more people move to these platforms > from older ones (rather than moving up from dumb phones or featurephones) > their requirements are getting louder and louder. Loudness = demand, and > in > a world where developers can make six-figure salaries a few dollars at a > time, the key is volume, and that leads one to either iPhone or Android. I > won't go into the deficiencies of the iPhone (start with: AT&T; you did > list Phone as one of your requirements . . .), but suffice it to say they > are sufficient to dissuade me. Windows Mobile is at end of life; and > Windows Phone 7 will be born without cut and paste (for example). So: > Android! Don't find the calendar reminder capabilities sufficient, > there's > an app for that! You list memos first: No native memo app? There's an > app > for that! Need to sync 'em with Outlook? There's an app for that. Need > to > sync 'em with the cloud? There's an app for that. > > > > You get the idea. It's not the world in which PalmOS grew up. > > > > Now, as someone said, if you like the 700p, see if you can find another > one! > Otherwise, come join us in the pool - the water's fine! > > > > Cheers, > > Don > > > > From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Pete > Holsberg > Sent: Sunday, August 22, 2010 11:28 AM > To: TREO > Subject: [Treo] Still looking for a 700p replacement > > > > > > The most important features of my 700p are (in order): > > Memos > Phone > Contacts > Browser > Camera > > Least important are: > > Videos > Music > Camcorder > Texting/Messaging > > So, what should I replace it with to get the same level of satisfaction? > > Thanks. > > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > > ------------------------------------ > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
