Latest comScore numbers show Palm gaining subscribers but losing market share, remaining in the top 5 71
The latest comScore numbers are out, and the results are fairly predictable: most platforms gained customers but lost market share, with the notable exception of Google's Android platform which showed a staggering 4% growth growth of 4 percentage points (to 13%). While Palm was amongst the platforms to add customers and the smartphone market continues to grow (comScore estimates that some 49.1 million people own the devices in the US), the recently acquired smartphone maker saw a market share decline of 0.6 percent.
It'll be interesting to see how HP/Palm plan to make further inroads in the smartphone market. There's little question that we'll see webOS remain in the top 5 platforms in the foreseeable future, but Palm (not to mention Apple and RIM) are going to have to work very hard to hedge their losses in this highly competitive market as the Android onslaught continues and Microsoft prepares for what will amount to a relaunch of their own mobile OS
Do note that this information is current as of May, which means that data from Apple's wildly successful launch of the iPhone 4 in June is not included in these numbers.
Via: Engadget; Source: PRNewsWire
71 Comments
neither do these numbers reflect the fact that many of the launch day/early Pres are being traded in for the EVO4g. All of those Sprint Premier customers were eligible for upgrades in June.
HP and Palm are already screwing it up, again, by not having a new, modern phone ready at the 1 year mark. 1 year is an eternity in the smartphone market. I would expect many of the Pre early adopters to move on to the next superphone when they're upgrade eligible.
Still not even a sniff of a new webOS phone. Disappointing.
You're an idiot.
HP didn't own Palm on launch day anniversary and therefore couldn't do anything.
Palm didn't have the funds to do anything on their own.
The news also would have been buried under the onslaught of iPhone4 news.
Try and take more than 1.5 seconds to think before you open your proverbial mouth.
possibly an idiot. That said he does have a point that since june isn't included that would be the first time you could expect to see large numbers of people dropping the pre.
Regardless i think this is one of those "watch this space" sort of things as with the addition EVO on June 4th i think, and a new iphone, + the announcement of IPhone on Verizon coming some time, I think we can expect the next couple of these to see some substantive changing of numbers. Possibly growth in apple and android, and a loss to Palm and RIMM.
*rubs forehead* iPhone is NOT going to be on Verizon anytime before 2012. There is a contract in place between Apple and ATT that unless ATT was a complete retard would cost Apple have their yearly profits to break free of ATT.
Then you have the complete and under slaughter when it comes to the anti-iPhone ads on Verizon. You know the ones. The walk and chew bubble gum ones. The Island of misfit toys. The continuing saga of the droid ads that beat the iPhone into the ground. If the iPhone was ANYWHERE near being released they would be toning that down a few notches. iPhone isn't going anywhere year Version anytime soon. Thank God. The world doesn't need iTards spreading to other networks like cancer.
Lol, I see you point. I suppose Palm/HP should wait for a quiet time in the phone market to announce anything, when there's nothing like an HTC Epic, Verizon iPhone, Droid X, or whatever RIM's doing these days, to steal your thunder. Buddy, it's a competitive marketplace, and you need to be in it to win it. I really hope Palm/HP doesn't think like you, or the whole adventure will be a $1.2 billion boondoggle.
Palm was sitting on $200 million + when they started looking for a buyer. No reason to save that money, their problem was burn rate, not capitalization. Additionally, if you think that HP didn't have a say in everything Palm did after the Palm board strongly recommended the acquisition, you're a complete fool.
Please try to look past your rampant fanboyism for a second and realize that it's a huge mistake not to release a new phone in short order. Heck, let out an unofficial "leak" that a new phone will be released in 2010, that would stop a lot of people from jumping ship and locking themselves in to a new phone for a year. Even now, there aren't even any rumors of a new phone. It's going to be a long, long time before HP releases a new webOS phone, and by that time they'll be dealing with 0.5% market share instead of ~5%.
I agree, with damn-near everything you said. Of course, HP DAMN-SURE had a say so, as SOOOON as there was an agreement between the companies. The only thing I dont agree with is when you said it's going to be a long, long time before HP/Palm releases a new phone, or at very least, a leak. While HP as a solo entity has sucked in the smartphone arena, I do think that they have learned from the big boys (RIM, Apple, HTC, Samsung). From a business standpoint, I believe we will begin to see leaks, news of new phones within the next few weeks or a month or so. However, I think this handset (or if we're lucky handsets) will be a handset to retain existing users (basically nothing too major, maybe a new form-factor to Palm,like, landscape QWERTY, current specs of course). I think by the end of the year we will see an onslaught (3 or more). I could be wrong though. I think for Palm to be really big, they are going to have to offer some of the fastest up-to-date specs around. I think this will attract more geeks, who will inform their friends, who will inform others.
You really don't understand mergers or contracts do you?
It would have been brilliant to launch yet another WebOS device to get shadowed by the newest iPhone. Wait. No, it would have been stupid.
WebOS did not get the initial success that we would like. Releasing in June vs releasing in October/September won't matter in the scheme of thing. It just has to be solid hardware with good progress on WebOS. This is a long battle.
October/September launch of a new phone is just wishful thinking. No rumors, roadmaps or anything else to substantiate that.
I agree. HPalm needs to start seeding the market with viral ads on what's coming. Even if they're not planning on releasing anything for a couple more months, they need to keep the hype up and get people to watch and anticipate for what might be coming. Right now, there's been no sound or anything on the streets (ads) of an up and coming model. Google, Apple and many others continue to produce new phones and yet HPalm is still sitting on the same old, trying, slow, Pre which is now two years old (1 year for the plus, but that's really not a speed boost, just memory). Come on already. If you don't let people know something big is coming, those whose plans are expiring are going to want to hop to the latest/greatest phone. Most who aren't going to apple are going to google. HPalm, wake up and smell the competition. Everyone else is hot, but you guys aren't doing anything...
The big question to all who is deffending Palm/HP slow action,
where is the hick the 1.4.5.1 update we`ll been waiting for?
for good sometime!
Pre to evo switcher... palm... give me web OS on evo hardware and I am back
"Do note that this information is current as of May, which means that data from Apple's wildly successful launch of the iPhone 4 in June is not included in these numbers."
First, "do note" that this only counts **new** users not upgraders. So all those iPhoney 3G/3GS people who upgraded to iPhoney 4 would never be included in these numbers, they only count who has either just moved up to a smartphone or switched horses (notice the decrease in percentages of the other 4 adds up to the increase for Android, so we can safely assume the vast majority of those people moved from their current platform to Android).
Second, "do note" this is is prior all the people who have moved from Sprint Palm Pre's to the EVO.
Third, "do note" that you say "There's little question that we'll see webOS remain in the top 5 platforms in the foreseeable future" -- add the numbers up the top 5 account for 97.1% of all smartphones (leaving a whole 2.9% for everyone else). That means that Palm would have to fall precipitously, like their user base cut by 75% to drop out of that top 5, so even if HPalm decides to opt out of the smartphone business, we will see Palm remain in the top 5 for at least a year or more (until 2 year contracts expire).
Fourth, HPalm better get their act in gear -- sitting back and watching all this stuff happen is only eroding any customer base that they do have, or potential converts they may get.
is the glass half full... Or empty?
I see a whole lot of market share that can be gained from rim and android. Many users switched from pre to the latest hot thang... Evo. But many of those are itching to switch back to an amazing webos phone. I know the #'s of pre defectors and new iphone sales are not included here. A hot webos phone can create enough buzz to gain some market share. I know many, many people have their eyes on the next HP palm smartphone release. This market is rapidly growing... And there is plenty of share for webOS to grab. Patience grasshoppers
those switchers would not be reflected in these numbers.
I doubt people are so jazzed about a new WebOS Phone that they would drop $300-500 on it. Keep in mind that they just got their phone. You are looking at 2 years before you can get a discount on a new phone. Unless this new mythical WebOS phone shows up within the next 4-5 months the resale value on say E-bay for an EVO, is going to tank and people are going to stick with an awesome phone that is EVO. Then when you couple the fact that Android 2.2 and its overall spiffyness that comes with it will most likely be on the EVO before the end of September (My guess.) which will make people even more impressed. Add to that the fact that the next version of android is coming with a UI refresh and some serious under the hood methods of updating the OS without Google needing to get permission from the hardware manufacturers, and it is going to make webOS development look like its standing still.
I don't want to be the glass half empty, shattered on the floor person. But there isn't any magic device that is going to make people drop their new phones in mass.
It is going to be a gradual return, clawing their way up the hill with each 10th of a percentage point, as people's contracts expire and they star eyeballing HPalm's new devices. Whenever the hell that will be. Because until demoed its all vaporware and talk to keep people interested. Which is all HPalm has right now as ammo. Other then that, they are firing blanks.
The Engadget Podcast recorded yesterday had Michael Gartenberg as the guest and was mostly about the Kin debacle and whether Windows Phone 7 can compete when it is launched this year. Josh Topolsky, a fan of Palm, was completely dismissive of webOS as "dead in the water - practically nonexistent(11:45)" and emphasized that new smartphone platforms are going to have to be fantastic right out of the box going forward in order to compete.
http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/09/engadget-podcast-204-qanda-bonanza-07...
I don't think HP is going to waste money trying to reboot Palm smartphones in the consumer space. It's too late. There's no point. Basically, I think they are going to target Palm smartphones at existing HP enterprise customers only.
how do you think HP won't
How do we know how many palm subscribers there are?
I thought Palm did not release numbers on how many units were sold.
anyone?
dreaded double post.
" I know the #'s of pre defectors and new iphone sales are not included here. "
You're right. It is growing and the competition is ripe for the picking. BUT, any of the platforms on that list can say that, not just HPalm. What in the worlds does HPalm think it is going to gain by waiting to announce/introduce anything?
Everyone says "you don't want to get buried in iPhone, EVO, ..." But, the truth is everyone else is moving forward, only HPalm is stuck in first gear (as of right now).
it's been a week since the acquisition. It's good to let the droidx,evo, iphone4 buzz die down.
give them at least a few weeks ....
patience grasshoppers... Big things to come.
Would like to believe it, but they are not doing themselves any favors by waiting.... Every day that goes by more are jumping from Pre to EVO, and once the Epic hits, there will be more that leave...
Why do I think HPalm are willing to let these people go? Because I don't think HPalm and Sprint will have an ongoing relationship.....
A week isn't a very long time, and as a change of pace, we may see some really big advertising for the new Palm devices rather than the somewhat subtle "Live moves fast" type.
People have been complaining about the advertising not being big enough for the Palm devices, and it takes time to get those big fancy advertisements ready with the special effects and such.
think Global
49,100,000 X 4.8% = 2,356,800
Should be pretty close to the number of webOS phones if the numbers are correct.
Androids growth wasn't 4%. They "grew" from 9% to 13% or 44.4%.
They gained 4 percentage points (ie as the charts says).
Yep, unfortunately we are starting to see PreCentral turn into the same thing we complained about with all the other typical "phanboy" sites. Take the data, skew it to their own purpose and spew it back out to make it look best for the "home team". I guess I knew it would happen, but it is still sad to see.
nice catch. that flew right by me. +1
Whoops - good catch. Fixed!
Sorry, guys but the buzz is not dying down anytime soon because you have a second wave of Android phones coming out this month including droid X, the 4 galaxy S on each carrier, desire and droid 2 in August.
And to top it off theres rumor on Engadget that the First Wp7 is ready to ship early, you got to think of all the Zune users that been waiting for a Zune like phone. The Kin don't count that phone was directed at teens.
The buzz may die down by 3Q2013, perhaps that is when HPalm will strike...
I've hard they are making a major announcement December 22nd, 2012. Just saying.
well then... WebOS is doomed. Not even all of the money In the world can save it now. I might as well give in and buy a droid or an iphone now. What's the point in waiting.. Right. Lets not be optimistic anymore. Palm is dead. You guys are right... What the hell was I thinnking. I mean.. Look at that chart!!! HP... Just take webOS and put it on a tablet. No point in even trying to compete here. See all of you on hurricanecentral.net. Man.. My wife is going too be thrilled with all of the time I'm going to have on my hands now...
Yes, because Apple is dead now because their computers were only 3% of desktops when they were in trouble. Wait. Apple isn't dead? People like choice? You don't have to own the whole market to survive? Inconceivable.
danm guys see wut you guys did listen man you kno I kno there a new phone comin out ad you kno it's goin to b a beast
give it up buddy.... Game over. Hp... It's been a whole week, no new phone announced. It's too late now. Don't waste the money on smartphones... There is no future for webOS there. Look at all of the experts on here trying to help you. Save all of that chedda for tablets and printers.
HP, consider yourselves lucky that you have some many people here trying to keep you from failing. Thanks guys! I see the light now. P|C... Pull the plug on this site.... It's over.
You gotta remember man, really hasn't been a whole week. Holiday week.
Ha, I think I smell sarcasm. "Oh no, a week after the merger without any news! The sky is falling, HPalm is doomed, dooooooomed!"
Patience is a virtue kids. I'd rather wait a month or two for a killer device with all the hardware/OS updates fully baked on arrival, than a new device in my hand on July 1 that feels like it's going to break and needs updates every week to be functional. I think Palm is learning from all the hardware problems they had with the launch Pre, and learning Apple's lesson by not making stupid hardware design mistakes.
We've heard this ridiculous argument since before webOS was announced - "I'd rather wait a little longer and have them get it perfect then to release something half-baked." As if releasing something half-baked had anything to do with how long it took. It took Palm 6 months to launch the phone after announcing webOS and it was still wobbly and the OS was half-baked.
I don't think it's ridiculous at all. HP has a lot of catchup to do, so releasing an unfinished device just because the commentors on Pre Central want one immediately. Now with HP's resources and commitment to "double down" on the OS, they have the ability to focus on getting it right before releasing it. That's probably why they haven't set a release date: they learned from their Pre launch mistakes (delays, bad hardware, half-baked OS) and are trying to make it better before releasing the follow up. Back in June of 09, they had to release something because they said they would. Now, they don't have a release date, so they're free to keep working on hardware and OS specs before releasing a shitty first shipment.
If in 6 months time they release another half-baked device with hardware problems and glaring OS holes, then I'll stick my foot in my mouth. I don't think HP will let that happen, because there have been a lot of learning experiences in the last year, but I've been wrong before.
2.3 million phones exceeds what I would have guess to be the total number of webOS phones out there. Until recently, Palm was providing "sell-through" as part of their quarterly guidance, and the cummulative sell-through of webOS phones as of Feb 2010 was 1.4 million. I doubt they managed to push 900m phones into the market in their Q4, although it's possible. Maybe we'll never know.
It actually wouldn't surprise me if Comscore glommed PalmOS and WebOS together, or even if the PalmOS installed base alone is what is referred to in the chart (which would imply that webOS alone would be 6th, right behind PalmOS).
We had the Verizon and AT&T launches, and while Verizon didn't do a damn thing, and AT&T wasn't much better, AT&T did sell more Palm Pre Plus units than Verizon did. I also convinced a few people I know to buy a Pre Plus, and they have been happy with their purchases with no remorse that they could have bought one of these other devices.
Yeah, theres a new phone coming out alright the problem is it ain't one of Palms. As far as Apple only being at 3% at one time, Palm is no Apple and probably never will be. There are bigger names out there trying to catch Apple and they are having a hard time.
HP Palm should come out with a device sometime this fall or early next year at the latest. Just hope it is phones that cover everyones needs. Like one with a big screen 3.9 inches or bigger no physical keyboard another smaller 3.7 with portrait keyboard then later come out with the tablet to really set it off and put webos where it should be number 1.
Guys, say what you will about Palm and HP releasing killer hardware and Palm coming back to life. The truth is, webOS is quickly going the way of the techie geek, swallowed up by the popular OS of the day, be it android or IOS. The reality is that anyone buying a pre right now is most likely doing so because of one of us. Hell, I got 8 peeps to convert who really never heard of a pre before. Carriers have no reason to push them when there are more profitable phones out there. And this isn't 2009 anymore (wow, sooooo long ago!) when super phones weren't being cranked out left and right. Say what you will about Rimm, IOS, android, etc, but the are staying current and people know what you are talking about when you mention them. Blackberry, iPhone, Droid. Becoming household names. Ask a non-techie about webOS and they will stare blankly at you. Ask them about the pre and the majority will have either never heard of it, or will just have heard the name, but really know nothing about the phone. HPalm needs to get going, and fast. The marketing has to be supurb. I even think a dual release of a tablet and a smartphone could help thrust webOS back into thing. But as a previous poster said, simply becoming a fanboy community sugar-coating the reality of the smartphone world is putting blinders on to what's going on.
And if we are being optimistic here, and I'm trying my best to be so, then we do need to ask ourselves...How long is too long to wait for a new phone? At what point is it really too late to make a dent in the monster platforms out there now. How long until webOS is regulated to working behind the scenes to make printers sorta neat? I dnt want to be a doomsayer, but I'd have to say that the time is coming up much too soon.very soon.
you ... A doomsayer... Never. You're telling the truth!
listen, everyone who wants a smartphone... Has one. Everyone who didn't realize they could use one... Got one too. This market is almost saturated. The little thays left.... Will be gobbled up by google and apple. there is no way another company can come in ... This late in the game.. And make another household name, no matter how big, how much money, global schmobal.. This whole ubiquitous computing concept HP has... A joke.
The idea of being able to print from a smartphone is something that isn't really out there, but WILL draw people in. And there are still many people who use those "dumb phones", because they just don't have experience with a better device yet.
Now, how do you think Apple and Android have gotten the hype? Advertising, and stuff that excites the general public in that advertising. A 3.8 inch version of the Pre Plus with a 1GHz or faster processor would draw a LOT of people in. You also have the people who didn't get an iPhone 4 and want a GOOD device. AT&T really has been holding back, so maybe there is room for a big launch on AT&T...who knows at this point.
nemo... It's over. Stop dreaming. The kinster and mikey have spoken... The truth is known. We are becoming the sheep we all so desperately diconnect with. We... Are hopeless. Just let Apple and google take over the market. There's no room left for anyone else. I know..it hurts man, but we can't go on living a lie... A dream. We must ... Give in. I'm gonna miss you on my smartphone webOS. I love you man!
clutch1222 you need to look at the post by morrison0880 above you he has taken the words out of my mouth. The truth is Palm is slowly becoming a niche phone like Nokia is in the US, no one knows what Pre and webos is other than techie geeks. In my whole year of ownership I have not seen one Pre in the wild. If it ain't one of the big four, Rim, Apple, Android or Windows you don't exist to mases. I'm not saying give up on your Palm/Webos devices but Palm needs to get off its butt before it falls to far behind.
well.. I told P|C to pull the plug... and they listened :
"P|C... Pull the plug on this site.... It's over."
Site was down hard for over an hour LOL!
Looks like someone talked some sense into them...and its back!
looking forward to the new webOS line of smartphones. It doesn't have to take top market share... it has to win the respect of its users. Don't underestimate the power of techie's advising people on choices. The most successful upstarts... get the most respect by word of mouth. The issues that plagued the pre... will be resolved. The build quality will be improved.
HP recognizes the rise in mobile computing usage. They see the rise in popularity of social networking sites. They want webOS phones for consumers and enterprise. They will release consumer phones. Will they be able to survive? time will tell. In the meantime, I will continue to support the best mobile operating system on any current smartphone...webOS.
The lack of new hardware means that even people like me who love WebOS are looking at alternatives.
Palm just flat out dropped the ball. They know that Sprint has a 12 month upgrade program, they know that the people who bought the Pre on launch day are die hard fans, and yet they still offered us nothing.
Obviously, I understand that releasing amazing new hardware while in the middle of a "merger" isn't easy, but that doesn't change the fact that they are no longer competitive, and it doesn't stop me from jumping ship.
If your dying to get locked into another contract with another phone... knock yourself out. My pre is patched up, OC'ed and doing just fine. I am out of contract.. and the only device that will replace my pre will be another smartphone running webOS. Ive tried them all. I play with all of my users iphones and android phones... not for me. I have a Corporate BB...ZZZZ. would I buy one if webOS was not an option.. sure. For now... I will do something unthinkable... torturous , madness I tell you!!! Wait.
The gains are probably from ATT's sales. Their advertising plans, seem to be providing some impact. I keep seeing more Pre's out there which is a good thing. The question is how loyal are the Pre's users going to be if the platform stagnates. Palm is still releasing WebOS updates, we hope. Hardware side of things though is lacking. The Pre needs a faster CPU and most applications need to take advantage of the GPU, like email. Email still is one of the killer apps, however things like text, IM and integration into social networks like FaceBook need to be better integrated. Video calling better than what Apple offers will also need to be incorporated, however users may not be willing to take advantage of video yet as they like their privacy.
I can't believe that people switch to the EVO platform and iPhone and still go back to the WebOS platform. This says good things still for the WebOS as a very solid good platform. Bottomline, HP will need to incorporate changes rapidly, keep quality control, and be innovative for it to survive in this fast changing world. That is the reason why Android does well. The open source community embraced Android and continues to be creative with many new applications.
What about all of us WEB os'ers running around with the Iphone Spoof on our phones.....running up the iphone tallies and down the webos tallies? Does this play in?
These EVO people man! Wow! (Let's do the math on a market of 49 million 1% is 490,000. Let's say the Pre sold 75k it's first month and 30k of those switched to the EVO. That's not enough to dramatically change the marketshare numbers.)
EVO people? You do realize the .6 percentage point drop for Palm came BEFORE the EVO, right? All of the new devices (including the EVO) will most certainly have an effect on the marketshare numbers over the next quarter.
I'm not sure what your contrived example has to do with anything but keep in mind that Palm needs to both GAIN and NOT LOSE customers to increase their marketshare (i.e. gain more than they lose). The 49 million number is NOT a static number. It represents an 8.1 percent increase over the previous quarter. It is estimated to continue increasing. So if Palm were to only lose 30K as you've stated, while the market continues to grow, it will still spell a significant marketshare loss for Palm.
I just bought a Samsung Acclaim Android 2.1 phone for my wife. Very slick for basic apps....
but when I try to surf the web on it, no back and forth buttons.
WiFi doesn't pick strongest signal first. Picks last signal.
No easy way to stop an application like Pandora from caterwalling away when you want to. (Pause of course, but I wanted to kill the dang thing).
both medical apps I tried (Epocrates and QxCalc or something) didn't work. Epocrates won't even install itself correctly it seems.
Android Market Health section full of girly apps, hard to find medical apps.
for changing apps, you have only the back button and the slow-hold home button. no flicking back and forth.
WebOS has been annoying in not running my old Palm apps, and the easy-hanggup phone, but is a much more efficient and elegant user experience. i think Android will be OK for my wife for simple stuff, but at this point, is disappointing as a real medical tool.
Confusion??? Someone PLEASE explain to me what the guy just said??
He uses a sentence regarding Palm devices...and then makes an aside that there are 49.1 million devices out there...implying, because of sentence structure...that there are 49.1 million Palm Pre/Pixi users... Huh??
Is this true??
Or, did he just make a terrible grammatical mistake (I know, because I do them constantly and I get mad at myself for doing so...so no biggie) and stated that the number of devices at 49.1 million is the TOTAL number of smart-phone devices in the U.S.? THAT would make much more sense...although, I've had people (and you know just how reliable gossip is) tell me that Apple sells 8 million units worldwide a week...which I find hard to believe...but whatever..
Anyway...to the author (Robert Werlinger)...thanks for writing up these reports... We'd be lost without guys like you.
That being said...is it safe to assume that you meant 49 million smart-phones in toto for the U.S. at large??
The only reason I ask is... I'm damned upset with the way the big boys (Google, Apple, RIM, including also the remora-like companies that are attached to these) have blocked any and all attempts for the Palm Pre to be a fully integrated part of society...
It was clear from the beginning that Palm had a winner...but needed developers. The lie was told that there was no money in creating programs for Pre...when, in actuality, many can just be ported over... THAT'S how easy Palm wanted to make it..and since they essentially created the ENTIRE handheld world singlehandedly, I might add....it stood to reason that what helps one guy would help all the guys, right???
Wrong!!
To this day, I STILL have to read all my ebooks on a Homebrew App (which is Free...PReader if you don't know what it is...totally Awesome..better than the retail versions) when even Android just got a Kindle App...
It's just a matter of Apple, Kindle, etc. making the Pre less functional so that people will come over to their products...inferior though they may be. Yes, I do not have a 5 mp 0r 7 megapixel camera...but, then again, I don't really need one. 3 is plenty for me....
And while I wouldn't mind a larger screen, right now my device still feels like a phone...NOT a miniature Tablet Computer...y'know??
Anyway...I'm digressing... Because of the 49 million comment...I wanted to go off and start screaming that 49 million people is more than enough to create a Kindle App for all of us ebook readers...or any of the multitude of apps that have basically been denied because of the lie that's been perpetrated that developers cannot make any money creating apps for the Pre...so why bother??
I don't know how it is now....after Apple and Google thoroughly damaged Palm using a Hydrogen Bomb....but, at the beginning...when it really counted....just a little help would have gone a long way. Heck...they (Apple, Google) didn't even NEED to help...they could have just minded their own business...instead of sending out their parasitic YouTubers like iJustine (get a real job already!!) to call the Palm Pre the Palm "Poop" (her words...nice, huh? And that's Apple's premier customer model base!! Lol)
Anyway...I've said my piece.. I'm hoping that all the hoopla with HP saying it's NOT going in the phone direction to be a total red herring...
Let's face it... More and more, we find ourselves outside of any office or building that's secure enough for us, right? So, it stands to reason that mobile devices, devices that DO EVERYTHING (ahem...Palm Pre...thank you!) will be at the forefront before too long.
The notion that people will be locked by their navels to their office desk in order to do business is just ludicrous...and I think...at least I hope....that the brains (the people way smarter than I am)...have seen the writing on the wall...and have decided to use Palm's OS (the best by far) and put it into a Ferrari-style casing with all the relevant sport car mechanics (hardware)...
We saw what Palm could do with it's OS using a Pinto...for lack of a worse car to use... Hell...maybe an Edsel!! Ha ha
Now, the time is nigh for HP/Palm to create the "Take This And Shove It Device of the Future!!"
I think it's already in the works...enough about WebOS Printers and such.... HP makes AWESOME computers already...and I remember my father back in 1976 or so....probably earlier....all excited as he gathered the family around the table to show us his purchase....
You know what THAT was? It was an HP Calculcator...the first with Trigonometric Functions on it.. (He was a Civil Engineer/Land Surveyor...so this was priceless)
And it was almost priceless in price as well. That little calculator...although bigger by today's standards....cost around $600!! In, say 1972 money... It was early...maybe not 72...but after. And it might not have been the first one..but you get the point....
HP has always been RIGHT there at the moment when things change...
People used to memorize slide rules before those calculators...and to have so much mathematical power at your fingertips...well...it revolutionized the way things were done from that moment on...all because of the stupid trig functions that we all can get on ANY calculator for $10 these days...maybe $20-$30 for a Texas Instrument job that will last a bit....
So, I'm not trying to jinx the pot...but I have a feeling that something like that is in the works...and it's obvious that a web-based OS IS the way to go since that's where we spend all our time anyway, right??
So...LONG...LIVE....PALM....PRE!!! Lol...or one of it's descendants!! I went overboard..but I was just having fun. If anyone actually finished reading my post...kudos to you...and please inform me if my assumption that there are 49.1 million users of smart phones in toto rather than 49.1 million users of Palm Pre/Pixi devices....
Thanks a million...and God Bless.
Couch :-D
I believe the 49 million number is in regards to ALL smartphone users in the U.S. Someone above said that the market share boils down to about 2 million Palm devices out there in the States. Quite the post, couch.
Sorry but the pdk is something new and is NOT what palm was pushing from the beginning. Yes, it is now easy to port apps over to webos but that ability is NEW. So there was never a lie. Now that the ability is there, I do hope devs take advantage of it. However, numbers like the ones shown in the chart do not help palm's case at all. If you look at the full report you'll notice that downloaded app usage is also increasing on smartphones. So it really is a big deal that palm get developers onboard to grow the app store. They know this already and part of their strategy was the pdk and making it easy port iphone apps.
palm device including old school palms
"...There's little question that we'll see webOS remain in the top 5 platforms in the foreseeable future..."
lol yay they're in the Top 5...of 5 :)
i guess it's better than not being in the Top 4
can't we all just "get-a-phone?" ...lol
lol!!!
there's a riot brewing on the web.... WebOS - to be ... Or not to be? That is the question.
to be kickin some serious tail with a 3.5 - 3.9 same as pre form factor...webOS 2.0...
iPhone, Android, RIM, the masses follow the phone that is the coolest at the moment. We aren't like the masses, so don't try to figure them out. They simply follow the device that gets the most advertising.
Oh yeah, what's the most advertised phone out there????
APPLE,
The second most advertised?
ANDROID!
Let me tell you a story about the HP + PALM Family...
HP is the daddy... Palm is the mommy... HP did not only marry Palm because of her beauty... It was because they already have a baby... Mommy Palm has been pregnant since before they got married... 3 months from now the baby will start kicking... in another two months the baby will be born...
Good luck to all of palm to any other phone brand switchers!!! May god bless you all!!!
Does anyone really believe that Palm would have anymore than they do with only two phones on the market? How many Android phones are there? 20+?
How many RIM Blackberry phones are on the market? 20+?
We all know the popularity of the iphone so we don't need to go there.
Personally, I think with two phones to hold 5.4% of the market is amazing.
Now, if HP can release 4-5 WebOS phones in the next year to 18 months, they'd catch up.
Numbers aren't real, mmmmannn...
Assuming HP is working on their webOS printers & webOS phones, I have this idea that they will not release a phone till one of each are fully developed and tested. This will give them some leverage to make webOS unique. A press release that only says "new hardware" will not turn heads because new phones are coming out every day. HP will go big and show that they have a new line of technology, not a new line of phones.