1. Palm owners have not given up on Palm. I am on vacation now, at a Ham Radio Convention, and most of the smart phones I have seen have been Palm OS based. They are well used and well loved. ==> That is the problem. There aren’t enough new people buying Palm OS apps. The ones who are buying are same one from last year and the year before. There’s not enough growth in sales in terms of new customers, compared to other smartphones.

2. Developers will need to cut deals with the service providers. My AT&T Centro has AT&T Mall prominently displayed, as well as a My Centro app that is really Addit in disguise. ==> Do you have any idea how hard it is to cut a deal with a carrier? They want total control of the device and the application inside it. This is a big turn off to developers who wants autonomy from carriers.

3. I did not buy a palm os device so that the software will look pretty. I bought it because I want something that will do it’s job well and so that the interface will get the hell out of my way. ==> I have to agree with you on this one. I also prefer function over fashion. But that’s not what the market wants. With reference to the Razr and iphone, people tend to buy what’s “cool” rather than productivity. An example would be: you may have the greatest and most productive device on the planet, but if people buys the other shallow but sexy device, why bother build the greatest and most productive device if nobody/not enough people will buy it?

I think Tam is just voicing his opinion based on what he sees and hears. That’s what a blog is all about right? Cheers.

Palm owners have not given up on Palm. I am on vacation now, at a Ham Radio Convention, and most of the smart phones I have seen have been Palm OS based. They are well used and well loved. Yet it seems like the Software developers are giving up on us. Seriously, if you are producing an app with less capability than what comes with the latest smart phones, why would I buy it, no matter how pretty it is?

You must make what people want, and then you have to advertise it, and get it in front of people. You can’t be like Jack Tramiel (Commodore Business Machines) and believe that simply because you made a great piece of hardware (or software) that the world will beat a path to your door, and you never need to advertise. Those days are long over.

Palm OS is a smartphone OS now. Developers will need to cut deals with the service providers. My AT&T Centro has AT&T Mall prominently displayed, as well as a My Centro app that is really Addit in disguise. My Centro gives you several pieces of software as a bonus (A couple Astraware games, a Palm branded file manager for SD cards, and a photo blogging app). Since My Centro automaticaly updates, there is no reason Developers can’t cut a deal to get their apps featured.

And the number one thing Palm OS Developers should remember. I did not buy a palm os device so that the software will look pretty. I bought it because I want something that will do it’s job well and so that the interface will get the hell out of my way. Too many apps today go for glitz and no substance. I don’t need another fraking tree view of my “files”. Give me categories and I am more than happy. The simplicity of the interface is why I bought a palm, stop cluttering it up with useless things. TakePhone, 2Day, and DateBk6 are excellent examples of software that does it’s job well without getting in my way. Most of the stuff by Resco and MotionApps spends way too much effort on useless interface cloning from other platforms (Resco = Windows, MotionApps = iPod), and not enough on tuning the apps to work well, do its job, and get the hell out of my way. If you don’t produce an app that follows the Zen of Palm, then I’m not buying it, no matter how pretty it is. If I had wanted a Windows Smartphone, I would have bought one. If I had wanted an iPhone, I would have bought one. I want the simplicity of Palm, that’s why I bought one.

Just found the link.

And why NOT clone the Palm OS? If there are people who can clone UNIX and Windows, then there are proberbly people who can clone Palm OS.

The issue with StyleTap is simple: people will prefer a PPC app to a PalmOS-emulated one – so, on the long run, sales will diminish. Also, all of my developer partners report little to no sales to StyleTap folk!

As for ALP: Access does not make devices itself, and thus there will (hopefully) be a plethora of devices from different manufacturers. People betting on Palm OS II sit in Palm’s boat forever – there IMHO is not the slightest chance of a second licencee touching this OS…

Best regards from Vienna
Tam Hanna

regards.

IMHO, the only hope that remains is Access…

Best regards
Tam Hanna

For me, it IMHO comes down to a problem of target demographics. The Centro sells extremely well, yet makes no one happy…

If Palm OS II is not targeted at business/pro markets, we can IMHO forget it…

Best regards
Tam Hanna

So developers can continue to develop apps for Palm Garnett OS as it will continue to run on the current Centros (of which another million will be sold soon) and the Future Treos.

It would be foolish for them to not support the current palm apps as it remains to be one distinct advantage over the other OS’s.