Palm brand to 'move into the background' as a sub-brand? 56
HP CEO Mark Hurd has had a few slips of the tongue before ("We didn't buy Palm to get into the smartphone business,""Smartphones are just another connected device to us."), so in the grand scheme of things what we have from him during this interview with German FAZ.NET should probably be taken with a grain of salt (but not, we think, with the expectation of a another retraction).
Hurd finally gave us something approaching our first clue about the Palm brand. He said that while the Palm brand won't die, but it could "move into the background" like the "HP Pavillion for personal computers" - a 'sub-brand,' if you will. Which we suppose opens up the possibility of webOS-based devices without the Palm brand; i.e. HP could indeed become the main brand and the Palm brand one of several brands HP uses for webOS-based devices. Or it means that we're mistranslating both Hurd's intended meaning and the German text here. Still - we're highly interested in knowing what is going to happen with the Palm name so we'll take whatever snippets of information we can get.
Otherwise, Hurd noted that he'd just switch to a Pre and was very excited about webOS (and was mum on what his phone of choice was before). He once again said that "Palm is a software deal" but was careful to mention phones along with slates and printers as possible webOS-based devices. He also granted that while "HP has a great relationship with Microsoft," the acquisition may mean they're not quite as BFF as before: "We want to promote webOS."
Source: FAZ.NET; Thanks to Stefan for the tip!
56 Comments
Hope the name Palm never goes away for good..
Honestly, nobody knows about Palm.
I *always* have to say... "Remember? .... the Palm Pilot??" "Oh yea!!"
Personally, I think it would be best if HP ran with "webOS" and dumped "palm".
Palm should have been doing nothing but marketing the features, advantages, & benefits of webOS... not their hardware. Yet, they marketed to sexual appeal, gender appeal, and basically everything but tech/geek appeal.
I'm beginning to become irritated by this guy. It seems he's one of those kind of guys that when he speaks, everyone else immediately under him in the company do a facepalm.
I was just about to post this. Everytime this guy talks I lose faith in webOS..he thinks he has a reality distortion field like Jobs but he really needs to shut the front door.
Dude. That guy makes more gaffes than Biden. Someone get him a publicist to speak through.
Palm should be used for anything handheld, in the palm.
Okay, look, Palm creates the ultimate software for handheld devices. What they shouldn't be focusing on is hardware. Let's put all focus on Palm in creating the software and let some other visionaries handle the hardware this badboy will go on.
I would much prefer Palm to keep creating, and focusing on, the software on these devices. I hope to see webOS as the reason Palm is around, it's that good.
Every major company knows Palm and what they're capable of. They aren't capable of hardware.
Let's churn up some hot webos, shall we Palm?
Except for the initial build quality, the design of the Palm Pre is great. Can you find any fault with the DESIGN of the Palm Pre(not counting build issues)? A larger version with 3.7-3.9 inch screen and a larger slide-out keyboard, same proportions as the current phone would seriously make a LOT of iPhone owners wonder why they never looked at a Palm device earlier.
So, was the image photoshopped, or does he actually have the ability to shoot lighting from his fingers? If so, I would be careful what you say about the man.
So are all future palms going to get 4 digit numbers as product names? HP Palm 4750 HP Palm 1145da.
Who cares about the name? Call it whatever you want, just make it!!!
BY chance is Hurd related to Sarah Palin, after all she says some of the dumbest things I ever heard, until this guy?
if the time frame could work id say hes the bastard child of sarah palin and george bush jr.
Funny you made that observation - I was just thinking to myslef that he was the child of Rachel Maddow and Keith Olberman but then I remembered that Rachel does not like hardware only software so my theory did not pan out . . . can't we have ONE place to come where we don't have to endure political views - just ONE place is all I ask . . .
Are you kiddin me? Sarah Palin was just running for Vice President of the Free World...this guy is now in charge of the future of my right hand! There's no excuse for this nonsense! Get it together Hurd!
More speculative fuel for the palm haters out there. my main hope is that webos lives on as we know and love it now. The palm brand is secondary, I just hope they retain a lot of the people responsible for making palm great.
Ok, now that he has confirmed he is using the Pre, someone needs to head over to HP hq and introduce them to overclocking. Maybe he will personally nudge JR and make sure they getter done for the OS.
They already said they were basically letting Palm do what they want and use all the resources they want, and that includes keeping the Palm brand separate.
This guy just needs help speaking; seriously.
seriously hurd needs to just shut his mouth and hire someone to do his talking for him so we get a clear message. every time he talks i hate hp a little. not when anyone else talks though just him everyone else deserves a cookie.
Sounds like bollocks to me, why did they register the "palmpad" name then?
Poor Palm. This guy is going to help kill them. They bought the cell phone company to put Web OS on computers, that's it. I just bought all those apps on sale for nothing. I'm seriously thinking of getting the EVO 4G phone. Hearing really good things about that.
I'll hold the door for anyone that thinks they want the droid-of-the-week.
I don't think this is anything new. Of course, the Palm brand was going to be secondary to HP's. Nothing else would make any sense. And, yes, we could have HP-branded (and not Palm-branded) devices--it makes no sense to have Palm webOS printers, for example.
No, I think it's always been that we'll have HP Palm webOS smartphones, maybe HP Palm webOS tablets, probably HP webOS netbooks, and definitely HP webOS printers.
I read this FAZ.net interview and was surprised that he got a Palm Pre (he wouldn't tell what he used to use prior to switching to the Pre). Why not a Pre Plus? Anyway, I wonder if he's running Preware on his Pre?
webos 1.4.1.1 is seeding to my sprint pre 1.45 pm thursday
How many of you have heard of any the term "Compaq" used in the last 5 yrs? How many people have heard of the company EDS, in the last 2 yrs? Are you seeing a Pattern? But just like csalinardi said above
You can call it Thelma or Louise if y'unt to, I don't care!! I just NEEDS me something I can cuddle
Palm/Shmalm -- who the heck cares what the name is, just get some freakin' new hardware out that doesn't look like a Pez dispenser next to the competition...
Get rid of "Palm". It's tarnished & has a bad reputation as a failed company now. Let HP do their thing with a completely fresh start on their HP smartphone brand. Who cares if it says Palm? It will have webOS and that's what is important.
Like I've been saying before... they bought Palm for the "Intellectual Property" of WebOS. They will use WebOS for their corporate focused business strategy. A phone may come out this because it was already close (C40). But I'm getting the Vibe that whatever it is, will be the last SmartPhone we'll ever see from Palm.
Prepare Yourselves.
HP Pavilion? HP Palm? Sounds fine to me. Were we expecting them to release a product on the Palm name alone, without putting the HP brand all over it?
All phones or other handheld devices (i.e. "PalmPad") should have the Palm brand. Not "HP/Palm". Just Palm.
If WebOS shows up on a printer or similar device it should be "HP DesignJet powered by WebOS" or similar.
HP, please don't be stupid about this. There is no reason to kill or move to the background a brand as strong as Palm.
As strong as Palm? wow are you denial or what? Palm failed remember? Headed to bankruptcy before HP bought them. The general public has no respect for Palm anymore. Tell people you have a PALM Pre and they say "why didn't you get a Droid?"
I'm not in denial. I don't think you understand brand recognition and marketing. Yes, Palm is still a very strong brand. Most people don't think of Palm as a company that is going bankrupt, they think of Palm Pilot, Centro, Treo, Pre, Pixi.
"The general public has no respect for Palm anymore" I think that statement is completely false. Only goobers like us that read tech blogs care about the troubles Palm as a company has had.
Normal consumers KNOW the brand of Palm. That's what makes the brand strong.
Your argument as it would have looked in 1997:
"As strong as Apple? wow are you denial or what? Apple failed remember? Headed to bankruptcy before Microsoft bailed them out. The general public has no respect for Apple anymore. Tell people you have a APPLE Mac and they say "why didn't you get a PC?"
Just give me some new hw. I don't care about your printers nor about your computers that no one seems to use.
A hint. A leak. Freaking something. Android blows, iphone is too ridiculous with their plan prices and winmo is a relic of the past.
On a different note, that CEO looks like a TV Evangelist. Lol
Regardless of how the phone is labeled the fact is Android and Apple are running away with the market share and with that all the apps and attention to go with it.
If the next Palm phone does not destroy the competition and really take it to a new level how could it possibly swing buyers from Android and Apple on Verizon, At&t or even Sprint??
When Palm fucked up and released it on Sprint first they paved the way for the Droid to take Android to the masses on Verizon. Before that it could have swung in Palms favor they had all the hype and just blew it. It would have been Palm against Apple.
Just competing with the current leaders will not be enough. Not a chance. I still think that WebOS is amazing and I like it better than any platform out there, but that will never be enough.
The next phone would have to just really be amazing on all levels. With all the brains leaving Palm, how is that going to happen?
I understand and agree with most of what you are saying Andy, I just try not to think that way. It will be an uphill battle. The odds are stacked against hpalm for sure. You are correct that the new HW does HAVE to blow everything else out of the water. If it is not BETTER than android/iphone, than people will not have any reason to switch. The sad truth is that consumers don't care that WebOS is better. They only care about hardware and hype. With that said, I believe in you hpalm, give us better hardware (than the competition) and some innovative marketing and people will buy it.
Releasing on VZ would have been nice. It was pursued, it didn't work out. Palm didn't have the muscle to get in there as a flagship. So they could have been a "B" at VZ or an "A-Flagship" at Sprint. Either way, the phone would have still be incomplete and Moto would have still offered a drop-dead deal to VZ to steamroll whatever Palm could have released June of 2009.
Still a possibility that ATT makes Palm an "A" if Apple lands at VZ. But hacking Sprint to death show a poor study of Palm history, they haven't done enough right to launch anywhere else.
Palm may have 1 more phone and then thats it... why else would the Palm name need to go to the background? It's because HP doesn't care about SmartPhones. Oh trust me.. I'll be in line for the first WebOS powered tablet, but if the Palm name went away, do you think there would be a new HP Smartphone....powered by WebOS. They been there and done that.
The first mistake was taking 6 months after announcing to launch the phone. Sprint exclusive wasn't good, but the fact that they've had the same model out for 20 months (from reveal) with only minor upgrades to Plus while iPhone's had 3 and 4 and &ndroid have had dozens of phones shows that even a partner with Vz or ATT at launch only would have carried them from June to maybe October before it was old news anyway.
Well, for a company that was pretty much dead, sparked back to life with a half finished product, then died again, they've done pretty well to present WebOS as their primary asset and attract a potent buyer. Hooking their trailer to VZ would not have made much difference. VZ would have become annoyed with the incompleteness of WebOS and the physical shortcomings of the Pre, and treated them just as poorly as they did waiting for the Sprint exclusivity to end.
So, thinking a VZ debut or earlier lauch would have been a game changer, is a little short sighted IMO.
That's a gnarly vein popping out of his cheek...
I hope Hurd is right that HP didn't buy Palm to get into the smartphone business and I hope HP just lets Palm use HP's resources and stays out of Palm's way
If you want insights into HP branding for Palm look at what they did with Compaq. It's still a brand within HP but the HP name will supersede all Palm branding. It's not all that complicated. End of the day, HP will still be making phones designed by the new joint Palm-PSG team and they will also have a hand in the webOS tablets, etc.
All in all, this isn't a terrible strategy. The public has practically forgotten about Palm as a company. Rebranding under a more widespread name might do them good. As long as the core people at Palm remain employed, I don't mind much.
I am rather loyal to Palm and hope to continue to see that brand with webOS in smartphones, PDAs, tablets, or slates, but Palm makes no sense on a Printer where webOS does. That being said I would but the new hardware webOS hardware even if it said HP not Palm. I wouldn't like that fact, but it is what it is.
Palm is more than a name. It is a brand, and it was and contines to be a great company. I really would hate to see the brand go!
I wonder how long until Starbucks gives their "official technology partner" (HP) some love in the way of a Starbucks app and Mobile Starbucks Card app.
MARKETING MARKETING MARKETING BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ - it all boils down to marketing and generating a buzz. They (HP) need to start marketing their product day one with key words and catch phrases designed to drive anticapation and interest in all things Palm or WebOS. They need to be talking about a FAMILY of products and start using unique catchy names. These are the things that will drive a desire for their newly revamped phones, hardware, and their FAMILY of connected products. Although I am a die hard Pre supporter and will patiently await the new hardward, I must admit the advertising, name and attention the Droid X has created is exactly what I expect from HPalm going forward. The Droid X commercial is the BEST phone commercial since the Zach Morris phone days . . . .just saying.
The Droid X or anything Droid is perceived as cool. Palm Pre or anything Palm is not perceived as cool and with the bail out its perceived as a failure. So it is not cool to own anything Palm no matter how much advertising, marketing the average joe doesn't really want Palm devices.
yet you still keep tuning in... day afetr day.. post after post... to cath up on the "uncool" news.
Your just waiting to catch the news of the new webOS beast smartphone.. so you can start your damage control and cling on to any of the credibility you will have left... dangling... desperately.... doomed.
You may want to start planning your disappearing cat now.... its better to prepare for these things.
A lot of experts on how to create a successful device on here it appears.
yea... things like this help me to realize i should just get a damn android handset and be done with it. I love my palm pre plus... I would consider it to have the best mobile OS by far...
but, I'm afraid it may never get to bloom...
too many simple things being overlooked... not everyone wants to install 1000 (homebrew) patches to reach perfection.
And now with this... taking palm out of the light?
whatever...
How many die-hard Palm fans would buy an HP product?
How many die-hard Palm fans would buy a Palm product?
I rest my case.
Also, people saying Palm's name 'isn't cool'...
what, and 'HP' IS?!? I don't know if it's like this in every country, but HP is seen as stuffy, 'family friendly', Harvey Norman-ish. (Harvey Norman is a fairly lame electronics and furniture store with dim-witted staff, who thrive on customers that don't understand 'those computy things'. I'm sure there's a US equivalent).
It's about time Hp ceo Hurd took a palm pre and actually used it.HA! I wonder if he uses homebrew?
it doesn't matter to me, how the brand will continue or not, the main thing is that the platform succeeds...because of its qualities. Next is the way they interact with theyr customers and developers. So if there is no change in that, but Palm would be named anyhow, if the product's allright (the sum of it all) I'll buy it!
Don't get me wrong: I love Palm for their Products, not for their Name...