MacDailyNews Take: Does the iPhone have Multi-Touch™?
Savitz continues, “Town Hall Investment Research analyst David Eller asserted in a research note this morning that sales of the Pre ‘are continuing to slow,’ and ‘likely will come in dramatically below’ Sprint’s reputed target of 1 million to 1.5 million customers for the year. Eller now sees the company selling 416,000 units in the August quarter overall, down from a previous estimate of 488,000. For the November quarter, Eller expects the company to ship 785,000 units.”
“The reduced estimates, Eller contends, is less a failure on the part of Palm as ‘overly ambitious expectations in the face of a weak retail spending environment, competition from the iPhone 3Gs’ and the slowing development of the Palm rival to the Apple App Store,” Savitz reports. “Eller adds that ‘with the Palm’s fade,’ takeover talk is also likely to evaporate. As the world realizes that the WebOS is ‘good but not mature enough for developers,’ he adds, ‘Palm’s strategic value to potential acquirers diminishes.'”
MacDailyNews Take: Uh, oh, now even the original intent of the Pre/WebOS — takeover bait — is fading away just like the company itself.
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: If they couldn’t cut it at Apple in the first place, why would anyone think that a bunch of castoffs would be able to compete?
Of the 416,000, how many went to replace defective ones?
I still see the fact that the Pre can only run html/java/css based apps as its biggest problem. But if they allowed true native apps, the multi-tasking that they boast will surely drain the battery exponentially faster than it does now.
No, No, NO!!! The Pre has multitasking and it has that SprintTV. Of course, you may need to recharge it after 30 min.
I actually wish Pre could make it. Out of all the non-Apple options, it’s the only one that looked interesting. Maybe Nokia will buy it and get rid of Symbian, Maemo, and whatever other OS of the week they are chasing.
I loved my Palm PDAs. They had an excellent software package for the Mac. So I had a bit of a soft spot for Palm.
But Apple and RIM aren’t seeing any effect from weak retail spending. It’s just an excuse. And there is no reason Palm couldn’t have come out with the Pre 3 years ago, but, like Microsoft, they let bloodless, unimaginative sales weasels push for expansion of markets at the expense of improving the product.
I feel no remorse for Palm.
“If they couldn’t cut it at Apple in the first place, why would anyone think that a bunch of castoffs would be able to compete?” – MDN
I enjoy MDN takes when they clarify and elucidate. And I guess some people must love the way you bash everything not Apple. But personally, I could do without thoughtless and cruel remarks like those above.
@Falkirk
I appreciate your empathy. It’s refreshing.
But I hope that you are always my opponents’ lawyer, and never my lawyer.
Though I doubt that Jon Rubinstein is welcomed on the Apple campus today, he is not a casts-off. He was burned out and retired from Apple against Jobs’ wishes. Steve wanted to keep him. I can appreciate a snide comment as well as the next person, but let’s not get too personally insulting. Rubinstein is a formidable foe. It would be foolish underestimation to think otherwise.
But is Rubenstein a Jobs, or Cook, or a Schiller, or an Ives?
I said RIP Palm in about 2005. The Pre was just the last spasm of life.
@ Falkirk
Yada, Yada, Yada, There are other sites you know. I love the thoughtless, brain dead, over-the top MDN spin. Really, it truly makes my day. Especially when I remember all the crap I took from the PC lemmings year, after year, after year…. even though I knew I was on a much better computing platform, So, please! Bring it on MDN!!!
Poor Palm.
I was a die-hard palm-pilot user in the mid 90s. I would get weird looks when I brought it to meetings–and then I started to see more in the meetings. It was “IT”, then, like the iPhone is IT now.
Apple is a juggernaut. They just have a good feel for what people want and how they want it–although they sometimes need convincing.
When you put the user experience ahead of everything else, you just can’t lose.
@Chanson de Roland
Yeah I can tell by his success with the Palm Pre… he’s a real force to be reckoned with. Let’s see, he trying to steal Apple’s iTunes user base, He’s suing Apple over the right to squat on the iPod, He boasted that his me-too phone was an ipone killer,… yeah! he’s a real piece of crap art. Burned out huh? But not burned out enough to start-up a whole new operation for a competitor, while leaching ideas & secrets from his former employer! CRAPOLA!
Psystar = Jon Rubenstein = Steve Ballmer = weak, ineffective, braggadocious dolts whose idea of creativity is to mimic everything Apple does . . . and then call it THEIR idea!
None of the above have earned or deserve one iota of sympathy or admiration. Move along, Roland: nothing to see (or praise) with any of these guys. Just rotting enterprises.
Falkirk:
Cruel ??? Get a life what do you call the backstabbing unethical behavior of the Apple has beens, especially Rubenstein, who was let into Apples administration’s confidence?
“I still see the fact that the Pre can only run html/java/css based apps as its biggest problem.”
As I recall, people yelled and screamed at Apple when the original iPhone only supported web apps, but yet, no mass outrage has been focused at Palm. Must be because people either know that real apps exist on the iPhone, or that they simply don’t care about the Pre.
Another of Palm’s problems is that it tied up to Sprint. I’m sure that’s not helping sales one bit.
Sprint – though not my favorite carrier – is also not being stupid. They are backing HTC Hero and Motorola phones – all using Google’s Android – instead of relying upon Palm to lay the golden egg.
http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssConsumerGoodsAndRetailNews/idUSN0345805420090903
I went through a few Palm Pilots…they broke easily. The Treo was a nightmare and was eventually thrown against a brick wall (I felt SOOOO much better afterwards).
I feel for the employees as I hate for anyone to lose their job but with regards to the company…well …’tough titty’ said the kitty, when the mouse was dea!
….DEAD! Grrrrr………
As a former long-time Palm user, I hate to see Palm slide as much as they have but, at the same time, this isn’t the same Palm that I used to love.
IMHO, the problem with the Pre is that they were aiming for the first generation iPhone. As the Pre was nearing completion, it was missing the ingredient that was making the iPhone such a success…the App Store. Their half-baked attempt to put applications on the Pre has really put them at a disadvantage.
The Pre was Palm’s last hoorah. I don’t see any company purchasing the Pre OS when they can use Android for free.
Also, why didn’t they develop a PMP/PDA based on Pre OS? They’ve become too short-sighted to survive.
At this point, the Palm Centro sold better than the Pre!
freakn Gilliigan’s Island over at Palm, bunch a castaways. lol
Damnit! – I just jinxed it into a ‘blockbuster’ hollywood movie – except to update the characters – they’ll have the token black guy, spanish girl, butch dyke, and gilligan will be a flamboyantly gay asian dude – and the execs will think “how can this possibly fail!”
really? Beleaguered again?
First, I am a mac user. I own many macs, iphone and even several apple tvs.
I am not a mac hater.
But seriously, I know you guys are just going to delete this comment, but c’mon. Enough with the beleaguered already. It’s just turing into sloppy and petty journalism.
New word please!
I’ve noticed a sharp upswing in Palm Pre ads on TV. Whether they are buying more time or simply switching the time they buy to shows I watch, I don’t know.
The ads strongly hit “Exclusively at Bell.” Some of the ads have the Bell reference and logo at the end. They could be Palm spots with a space at the end for carrier branding. Other spots have the phone interacting with the Bell logo throughout. They must have been made by Bell or for Bell.
Is Palm upping the promotional push for the Pre? Or is Bell using the Pre to front an assault against Rogers which has the iPhone exclusive in Canada? Is Palm giving Bell money to use the Palm to front an assault against Rogers?
The only thing clear is Plan A isn’t working as well as Palm hoped. Do they have a Plan B ready to go, or did they believe Plan A would work without adjustment?
All this stuff must be true about the Pre selling so poorly. We don’t hear from that loudmouth Macnutty, whatever that guys name is bragging about no one buying iPhones when this piece of junk Pre comes out.
@ MDN
> If they couldn’t cut it at Apple in the first place, why would anyone think that a bunch of castoffs would be able to compete?
Wasn’t Steve Jobs a “castoff”?
With Apple growing and succeeding as it is now, I think there will be plenty of Apple “castoffs” who leave Apple and go on to do great things, even great things that complement Apple.