Palm releases new Treo, latest Windows Mobile powered device

It’s easy to dismiss Palm Inc.’s Treo wx700 smartphone as just another mobile computer. After all, the wireless sector is practically flooded with these devices, and Palm could have some trouble making its latest offering stand out from the crowd. But an assessment of the mobile market indicates that the 700 isn’t only a new product; it also exemplifies the myriad changes affecting the industry. "We really think people are going to migrate away from their laptops," said Peter Skillman, Palm’s senior director of new product development, outlining one of those changes. Launched on Bell Mobility’s EvDO network at a press conference on October 18, the 700 incorporates many of the new technologies – and the new trends – bandied about the mobile industry. The 700 is one of the first Palm devices to sport a Microsoft Corp. operating system, Windows Mobile 5.0. The 700 represents a truce between the former rivals: Palm and Microsoft used to battle fiercely over the mobile operating system market, and now they’re partners. "We’ve been pushing each other to innovate," said Phil Sorgen, president of Microsoft Canada. "We’re still doing it, but we’re doing it in a partnership."The 700’s advent doesn’t spell an end for the Palm OS, though. It soldiers on in other products, including the upcoming 700p, due to arrive in Canada eventually. Palm representatives were tight-lipped about a potential launch date for the 700p. According to speakers at the 700’s launch, the Microsoft partnership lets Palm tap into a growing number of end users who insist – by personal choice or by employer decree – on only Microsoft products. Among the popular Microsoft equipment for corporations is Exchange Server, the email platform. Michael Moskowitz, president of Americas-International at Palm, pointed out that there are 130 million Exchange users in the world, and just 10% of them use mobile email, spelling an opportunity for companies like his. And Exchange itself is undergoing certain amendments that, alongside devices such as the 700, could see that 10% grow substantially in the coming years. As of this year, Exchange sports "push" technology that essentially fires messages out to handheld devices, similar to the way Research in Motion’s popular BlackBerry operates. The 700 is one of many devices targeting RIM’s core audience, who must wonder if the BlackBerry is the best choice given so many new push-email contenders. As if in response, RIM unveiled the BlackBerry Pearl in September. The Pearl features a digital camera and a media player – applications that make it appealing to consumers, and help RIM break out of the business-only mindset with which it has succeeded so far. Using Microsoft’s operating system in its devices lets Palm access Microsoft’s vast application development network, which could become a defining factor for Palm. Industry observers have been touting applications as one of the three pillars of the mobile game: fast download speeds and colour screens mean little without content. Palm’s newfound access to the application development Mecca in Microsoft’s purview could help Palm’s future fortunes. Although the proliferation of smartphones, cell phones, PDAs and hybrid devices seems in danger of overwhelming the market, the method of their genesis is good news for application developers. They say platforms are becoming more standard, which means developers get to write applications for just one or two platforms instead of several. "The problem becomes a lot more manageable," said Alvaro Pombo, president of TrueContext Corp., an Ottawa application development company specializing in mobile. Microsoft’s Windows Mobile is becoming a standard, but "the same is happening in the Java world. It’s becoming relatively standard." TrueContext recently opened a "human factors" lab to investigate ease-of-use, menu flow and other aspects of good mobile application design. Such aspects are another big trend, and another talking point for Palm’s executives. Skillman noted that the 700’s user interface makes applications easy to use; a Web search field is on the start-up page, for instance. "If you have to go through so many clicks, you’re not going to use the application," he said. Moskowitz pointed out that the latest Treo is "a phone first" with easy-to-use voice mail navigation, but Skillman added that PDA functionality was no afterthought. "We’re not just taking a phone and grafting on a mobile computing experience." He also mentioned that Palm’s retail partners – carriers such as Bell Mobility – face too many "no-fault-found" returns, in which people who bought mobile devices return them to the retailer for no apparent reason. Ease-of-use out of the box is quickly becoming a necessity, especially since carriers no longer benefit from the rapid growth they witnessed in the past. As they search for the next killer application – mobile TV, mobile data, messaging – carriers need new applications to present to potential customers. As an application-development platform the 700 is poised to take part in this important trend. But Palm’s latest device is hardly the only crown contender. Nokia Corp., Motorola Inc., Pantech Wireless Inc., UTStarcom Inc. and RIM also seek the sector’s top spot. According to Skillman, not all of the competitors will survive the numerous changes at hand. "There will be many losers," he said.

Palm releases new Treo, latest Windows Mobile powered device

News | October 20, 2006

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