Palm Can Do It! Why not Apple?

[pubwvj]

Palm is offering this beauty:

http://www.palm.com/us/products/handhelds/tx/?cid=crt_tx_kb

Why isn't Apple offering something better?

I want an iPal - a palm sized Apple Macintosh Handheld computer that syncronizes / merges with my Mac such that when they are together they act as one machine and when I am on the go I take the iPal and have access to my most important stuff. It doesn't have to store everything but a 60GB drive would mean it would hold enough music, a video, backup my system/apps/home and give me access to my data.

I have a Handspring Visor Deluxe. Wonderful machine and tiny. I want Apple to make something that will replace that, and real world rugged of course!

Price? Palm's charging $299. I would pay Apple $500 for something like the above. Come on Apple!

 

[Shasta]

Apple doesn't necessarily need to create their own Palm, Newton or iPal. What really needs to happen is that some software developer (Apple, Palm or 3rd Party) needs to create software that will easily integrate Mac OS X with the portable OSs. The solutions available now are a kluge at best.

 

[MovieCutter]

Why not Apple? Because Apple took a business class. Apple is smart and realizes investing millions in R&D for a shrinking/dying market is idiotic. Very few people buy PDAs these days, that market is being eaten alive by the cell phone market. Buy a TX, buy ZLauncher, and load an OS X theme...there's your Apple PDA.

 

[mkrishnan]

Out of curiosity, what's particularly beautiful about the Palm TX? It doesn't seem like anything particularly special above and beyond Palms from several years ago. And it doesn't even have a VGA screen....

 

[iGary]

Only a very few people ACTUALLY use their PDA's.

I have had three of them, and my most recent one is the only one I use. Most people like pen and paper.

That said, if apple offered a Palm-sized unit with Mail, iCal, Safari and Text Edit, I'd buy it in a second. I hate trying to do the Web and Mail on my Treo.

 

[Shasta]

I agree with iGary. I honestly use my laptop for things a well equipped Palm could easily tackle. I'm not holding my breath but if Apple some how decided to reenter that barren waste land of a market I'd be one of the few to grab a piece

Shasta

 

[JBot]

I think pubwvj would pay apple 500 dollars not for the tech. behind the machine, but for the little apple that lites up on the case.

Although people still are against the idea, i really think the next big thing apple releases will be the phone. Its a huge market thats just going to keep growing. They can keep the ipods the exact same for another year, and still have a huge lead on the second place mp3 player sales. The macbook and macbook pro can stay the same as long as the cosmetic problems, and the occasional whine noise are fixed. Remember, they did JUST release the new intel machines, itll take a few months still before they make a huge difference in the case/machine.
I think if they released a different model of the macbook/pros, it would look as a weakness to the company.

 

[mpw]

I've got a T|X and I've mixed feelings about it.

It can do a lot more than I need of it, but trying to get it to do those things easily is a nightmare (all problems with syncing to either PC or Mac)

Those things I want it to do most often are flawed, again mostly due to syncing problems.

The number one thing I need it to do is sync with Outlook and iCal and it will, but not everytime and I can't afford to not know when it hasn't worked.

Maybe I'm asking too much of it to sync with PC at work and Mac at home but that's what I bought it for.

To be honest I think PDAs have had there day and Apple should be producing a kick-ass smartphone. If they do it HAS to be able to sync flawlessly with both OSX and XP/Vista and must be quick, the T|X is so slox working with spreadsheet data.

 

[dsnort]

Palm is offering this beauty:

http://www.palm.com/us/products/handhelds/tx/?cid=crt_tx_kb

Why isn't Apple offering something better?

I want an iPal - a palm sized Apple Macintosh Handheld computer that syncronizes / merges with my Mac such that when they are together they act as one machine and when I am on the go I take the iPal and have access to my most important stuff. It doesn't have to store everything but a 60GB drive would mean it would hold enough music, a video, backup my system/apps/home and give me access to my data.

I have a Handspring Visor Deluxe. Wonderful machine and tiny. I want Apple to make something that will replace that, and real world rugged of course!

Price? Palm's charging $299. I would pay Apple $500 for something like the above. Come on Apple!

I have a Palm Zire, on it's last legs though, and I was thoroughly disgusted with what Palm tries to pass off as Desktop for Mac. Don't know about the other features, but, I have always had a prob getting office docs to sync up.

I have actually ordered, and am waiting for the arrival of,.... a used Newton! As I use it mostly in my auto, the size is of no issue, and I am intriqued by the Newtons longevity way beyond the products manufacture. This was a product well ahead of it's time, and the last version of it's OS is still a high water mark for that type of application.

I fervently hope Apple revisits this product some day, but I'm not holding my breathe. The Newton was a product of John Sculleys tenure, the man that forced Steve Jobs out. Jobs is not a fan of the whole PDA category, and referred to the Newton as "that little scribbly thing" before he killed it shortly after his return to Apple.

 

[LoveMacMini]

and you wonder why the smart phone market has year over year growth.

whose dominating that sector? windows mobile!

but i agree with everyone here, a pda today is useless, a pda connected to your phone network = priceless.

that market is growing, microsoft realizes this, so does palm. that's why palm is struggling to get new hardware out and new versions of it's OS, while Microsoft has a roadmap going well into 2008.

 

[mkrishnan]

but i agree with everyone here, a pda today is useless, a pda connected to your phone network = priceless.

I go back and forth on this. I would consider my PDA useless (or rather not have bought it) if it did not support WiFi. But it does, and I don't (consider it useless). Having cellular service as well would be great, but what I mean by going back and forth is that I buy a big, powerful phone, and I like its power, but lust after a small phone. Then I buy a very compact phone but it does not really double as a PDA. And so I pair it with a PDA that I can keep in my attache or backpack. Right now I'm in the latter phase. I can't say I won't get a big Treo type of device the next time, but I do enjoy/use my PDA. Not particularly as a PDA, but as a web device that's compact enough to use it in some circumstances where a laptop would not be ideal....

 

[michaeldmartin]

Palm handhelds are the most unstable & crappy handhelds that i've been exposed to.. At least PPC's don't crash every day (although they do sometimes)

 

[pianoman]

iGary has the right idea. i think apple gave up the palm pilot idea a long time ago and the that market isn't really doing that well anyway. the only thing people use is a blackberry but those are annoying.

i have a palm tungsten e that i bought 3 years ago but i never use it. between a cell phone, computer, and iPod, i don't want or need anything else to carry around. if apple released something that combined these features (the rumored iPhone, perhaps, or a palm-sized computer with the essential apps) i'd consider it.

 

[Torajima]

Why not Apple? Because Apple took a business class. Apple is smart and realizes investing millions in R&D for a shrinking/dying market is idiotic. Very few people buy PDAs these days, that market is being eaten alive by the cell phone market. Buy a TX, buy ZLauncher, and load an OS X theme...there's your Apple PDA.

Anyone who thinks a cell phone is a real replacement for a PDA has never used a PDA. Sure, my cell phone has a calender, address book, and "notepad"... but these features are so poorly implemented as to be unusable.

But maybe you were talking about "Smartphones"? But they're not quite ready to replace the PDA either... they are overpriced ($300 pda + $50 cell phone = $600 smartphone? I don't get that math...) and often quite limited compared to their phone less counterparts (many phone Vendors intentionally cripple features so you'll be more apt to buy ringtones and other goods from them).

I've owned a Newton, various Palms, and used WinCE machines. Though these devices have often been marketed as business organizers, they do a LOT more, and their real potential is replacing the laptop with something that fits in your pocket.

I for one would like to see Apple re-enter this market (one that they pretty much created), as it wouldn't be too hard for them to build a better PDA, or rather, handheld computer. Palm's OS is going nowhere, they've removed many of the features business users need, and they have serious quality control issues. Microsoft and the WinCE machines aren't any better, and they are painful to use and not exactly Mac friendly. Apple could easily do for this market what they did for the mp3 player market.

And ultimately, that's probably why we won't see Apple release a true handheld computer, at least not while people are still paying $300 to $500 for iPods. For who would pay $500 for an iPod, when you could buy an Apple PDA that runs all your software, plays games, music, videos, etc. for the same price?

 

[dsnort]

Ya know, I was thinking. The best thing about the old Newton was it's OS, still a high water mark for that type of device. It did a lot with what? 16Mb of memory?
Now take that OS with it's capabilities, squeeze it into a a 60 Gb video iPod. Increase the case size by 40%. Add phone, bluetooth, and wifi. Up the memory to 80 Gb. Touch screen interface, no buttons. What would you have?

A Smart Phone....FROM Hell!!!!

A Zune, Treo, and Blackberry killer!!!!

Gotta go wipe the drool from my chin now ( And the mere possibility has me checking my bank balance!!!)

EDIT: On second thought, would wifi be needed on a device that could connect over the wireless network?

 

[MovieCutter]

Anyone who thinks a cell phone is a real replacement for a PDA has never used a PDA. Sure, my cell phone has a calender, address book, and "notepad"... but these features are so poorly implemented as to be unusable.

Anyone who thinks the PDA market is alive and well has never talked to the average consumer. You're thinking about a very small market of which you happen to belong. Apple doesn't think like that. The only small markets they attack are the professional and server markets, and that is because margins are high, and they can compete in those markets to an extent. Apple has no need, nor desire to re-enter the PDA market. There's no margin, and there's no market.

But maybe you were talking about "Smartphones"? But they're not quite ready to replace the PDA either... they are overpriced ($300 pda + $50 cell phone = $600 smartphone? I don't get that math...) and often quite limited compared to their phone less counterparts (many phone Vendors intentionally cripple features so you'll be more apt to buy ringtones and other goods from them).

That's funny, I've owned several Palms from the m515 to the Tungsten T3 and I find my Treo 650 to do EXACTLY what my Palms did, and it has a phone!!!

I for one would like to see Apple re-enter this market (one that they pretty much created), as it wouldn't be too hard for them to build a better PDA, or rather, handheld computer.

You don't understand business. You don't put money into R&D and production for a product that there is very little market for. Apple doesn't care how many times MacRumors members say they should do a PDA. If a PDA doesn't sell to the average consumer, it's never going to happen. And the average consumer sees a cell phone as a fine PDA replacement.

For who would pay $500 for an iPod, when you could buy an Apple PDA that runs all your software, plays games, music, videos, etc. for the same price?

The average consumer doesn't WANT this device. The POWER user does. I'd like a device that does everything, but I also like my iPod because it does one thing (music) EXTRAORDINARILY well, and a few other things (video, contacts, photos, calendars) VERY well.

 

[pubwvj]

Ha! I am vindicated! Apple has released it as the IPhone. Now I save my pennies up...

 

[Jiddick ExRex]

Ha! I am vindicated! Apple has released it as the IPhone. Now I save my pennies up...

Funny how you wanted the excact same things that Apple just released

 

[xfiftyfour]

Funny how you wanted the excact same things that Apple just released

Yeah, except he didn't get his 60gb that he was asking for.

I'm a bit upset that the iPhone only has 8gb of space, but mostly because that leaves me torn on keeping my iPod 60gb and just drooling over the iPhone, or ditching the luxury of keeping all my music with me at all times in order to grab up the iPhone. I can't really afford to have both (nor would I want to), so decisions decisions!

I bet, though, that Apple will be releasing a full size iPod sometime this year, which will just throw even more of a kink in my plans, lol.

PS: Why is this thread in Mac Pro/Power Mac instead of Buying Advice or Apple Peripherals?

 

[pubwvj]

Yeah, except he didn't get his 60gb that he was asking for.

True, but all good things will come to those who are patient...

 

[Spanky Deluxe]

PS: Why is this thread in Mac Pro/Power Mac instead of Buying Advice or Apple Peripherals?

Because at the time this thread was written there was only one forum for Mac Hardware. It was split up a short while later but the Mac Pro & Power Mac forum was the original one just renamed, as such it contains most of the old posts.

 

[Jiddick ExRex]

Ever since the new nanos were announced I drooled over them. With an iPhone with the same capacity, it's no huge difference for me. I want the iPhone now. Not an additional iPod

 

[wpsinc]

Palm can do it - why not Apple

I, too, have been looking for a PDA that will play nicely with OS X. I've used the HP200lx, various Palms and Ipaqs when I was into Windows (I'm recovering now, thanks) The iPhone may be the answer - My main beef with the iPhone is the limited memory. I wonder if someone will come up with a way to link the iPhone to the Ipod - now THAT would be cool