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http://www.macnn.com/articles/01/06/06/businessweek:.apple/

BusinessWeek: Apple should avoid handhelds

updated 05:10 pm EDT, Wed June 6, 2001

 
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BusinessWeek Online's Charles Haddad believes it would be an ill-fated move for Apple to enter the handheld market, either by creating their own device or acquiring Palm or Handspring. Rather, he believes the company would be better served by focusing on making sure the devices on the market are compatible with desktop Macs. "I wouldn't be surprised if Apple announced sometime in the not-too-distant future an 'iTunes' equivalent of handheld connectivity software. Such software would simplify connectivity with handhelds while expanding their power."


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    06/06, 05:21pm | report spam | Reply | delete

    Support issues

    It wouldn't make sense for Apple to make Palm Desktop type software. They would have to support a ton of devices, test quite a bit, and keep in touch with PDA makers. This would be a huge nightmare for support.

    Too much overhead would be involved. Apple would be better to introduce their own device, if they thought about it at all. Although any lessons they learned from the Cube should be noted as well.

    Test market response before placing the device on the market please.

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    06/06, 05:36pm | report spam | Reply | delete

    Palm Emulator'

    Just yesterday there was a news item about a Carbonized Pal Emulator. This could be the basis of an improved Palm Desktop software.

    THe current software is an adaptation of Claris Organizer, and as such there are some rough edges- the desktop software supports mulit day banners while the palm device breaks them up into discrete "all day" events. Also, getting data in and out of the actual device is a bit kludgy.

    Wouldn't it be great if there were a utility that let you mount and directly manipulate your Palm on the desktop? I.E. drag and drop to install apps, extract data, enter addresses, etc.

    Seems like mounting a "Virtual Palm" snapshot of our handheld on the desktop, with the ability to save changes to the Palm, would be a lot more direct. You could also keep mutliple "snapshots" of your handheld... the max a Palm V holds is 8 megs, so you could back two month's worth of daily backups onto a CD-R.

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    06/06, 05:52pm | report spam | Reply | delete

    good call

    The PDA market has been commoditized, just like cell phones and PCs. Hard to make money at it, even for the big guys, because the competition is so fierce and the products are becoming indistinguishable. I don't think Apple could make money at it.

    Maybe there are enough Mac loyalists to support such a product, but I doubt it. You don't really need a Mac to keep track of phone numbers and addresses. Anything worth doing on a Mac pretty much requires a real laptop. Of course, I hope they prove me wrong.

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    06/06, 06:15pm | report spam | Reply | delete

    RE: Support Issues

    I think your logic is a little flawed. Think about it, iTunes and DiscBurner have support for a bunch of CD-R and CD-RW drives, why couldn't they do the same in the handheld arena. Just MHO.

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    06/06, 06:25pm | report spam | Reply | delete

    virtual palm

    That is a dumb idea. On my Mac I want to do far more than a Palm can do. I need multiple addresses, lots of colors and categories. The Palm is for the bare minimum of info -- to go. If you aim to just have a "virtual palm" on your Mac, why not just use the Palm?

    I want a full featured PIM for everyday power use, to synchronize easily with the Palm for my travels.

    For now I use Now Contact & Up to Date, but I sure would like to see a revolutionary rewrite from the ground up with elegance and stability. The Now Bundle has stayed pretty static for the last 4 years (save for the necessary bug fixes and minor updates.)

    Take a look at Outlook on the PC and you'll see a mature PIM.

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    06/06, 06:32pm | report spam | Reply | delete

    Microsoft V Everyone

    In many fields of technology where micro$oft is a reasonably sized player, it always seems to become a two horse race - MS and whoever is left standing. To enter the PDA market when there are two well established platforms would be a very brave move on Apple's part. Would have a nasty effect on Palm as well. Wouldn't touch MS but the non-MS market would be splintered. My non-expert advice would be to work with Palm, not against them.

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    06/06, 06:32pm | report spam | Reply | delete

    good call's right

    Unless Apple has an Ace up their sleeve as far as technology is concerned, It would be best for them to stay out of this
    READ - "niche" market. Apple did had nice products as a result of the Newton venture but it was a constant struggle to sell these limited usage electronics. Do we really want to see this again?

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    06/06, 06:38pm | report spam | Reply | delete

    I totally agree

    I totally agree. Apple already tried the "spread out" deal, making tons of products. They need toremain focused. Good call B-Week.

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    06/06, 08:42pm | report spam | Reply | delete

    HeloooOOOooooo!

    Palm Organizer *is* Claris Organizer. And if it its current simplicity, had the command translation of Chronos Organizer and the integration of Entourage, it'd be perfect, Buy it back, perfect it, and make it so that people who buy Palms first then need a Mac to complete the experience. I spent tyhe day today ona Wintel machine, using the same programs I use everyday on my iBook - and SHEESH was it a trying experience - from the start menu to cursor behavior to combo boxes... AAARRRGGGHHH!!!

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    06/06, 09:45pm | report spam | Reply | delete

    It's coming, not Palm

    We'll get our Apple PDA/Tablet.

    Take AirPort and what it can do, and and OS X's ability to display on one device but run on another, (something that NeXT did but isn't yet clean on OS X).

    Now combine that with this recent Apple patent:
    US6215476: Flat panel display with integrated electromagnetic pen digitizer

    Just a matter of time. I don't think Apple would bother just making a device to compete in Palm and Pocket PC space. It will be a tighter extension of your desktop than what simply syncing a Palm gets you.


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