The folks at CreativeAlgorithms can be considered one of the oldest Palm OS houses still operating – while they usually don’t make too much buzz, their founders posted a few extremely interesting articles to the company blog some time ago.
I found out about them now, and post parts of them here – read them if you have a few minutes of spare time:
Perception is Reality. Why Palm OS software sales have plummeted in 2008
Palm OS software sales are dead. Most developers will tell you that at the end of 2007 their sales dropped below sustainable levels, even below levels where support is justified. Some developers responded by offering existing titles for free with no support, others have closed completely, while many are looking to port quickly to newer platforms with greater potential. However, according to the buzz online, Palm OS has been slowly dying for three or more years now. And Centro sales have hit one million. So why the sudden sharp drop in sales? Is it because Palm Gear suddenly shut its doors, giving the false impression that Palm is through? Maybe Centro users, new to Palm, are too cheap to add software? Or Palm hasn’t informed them of its benefit or existence? It could be the uncertainty of the new OS (Nova)? Or maybe it’s just because news has been quiet? Any publicity is good publicity. This post explores some of the possible reasons, and a poll follows, to better understand the perception of why sales have tanked.
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Summary of Palm OS Software Sales Poll
We recently conducted a poll as to why Palm software sales were down drastically in 2007. Here’s a synopsis and editorial of the results:
The recent poll we conducted resulted in a two-way tie, with two very close second place finishers. Two additional third place selections followed very closely behind, nearly resulting in a six-way tie. These results are not surprising–too many factors have played a part in this story. I suspect it was difficult for one to choose just one main factor. All the results tell a story of how things went awry with the Palm OS.
After all the RIP’s issued over the years about Palm OS dying, this time with all the circumstances in play, we may actually see it happen. Those of us who are die hard fans really hope that a miracle happens, but this is as bleak as it comes.
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