PalmOne has got a lot of flak recently from the PDA nerd crowd. Everyone was hoping the T5 would have had everything the T3 plus WiFi, Palm OS 6 Cobalt, and any other bells and whistles that could be crammed in there. The T5 was a step down, they cried. It had no WiFi. It had no Cobalt. It didn’t even have a vibrating alarm or a cradle.
What these people don’t see is that PalmOne had no intention of releasing a gadget-heavy drool device. Devices like HP’s iPAQ hx4700 simply aren’t PalmOne’s style.
There are two ways to go about designing any product. One, you can build on specs. You compile a list of all the buzzword features out there and cram as many of them as possible into one box. This is the hx4700: it’s got a VGA screen, Bluetooth, WiFi, SD and CF card slots, a removable battery, and even a laptop-style touchpad in place of the directional pad. It’s not really designed for anything or anyone in particular, but it’s got all the power and flexibility you could want. To do what? Well, that’s up to you.
The second way to approach product design is to find a niche and exploit it. Target a specific kind of person, say, mobile businesspeople, and try to design a product that makes their lives and jobs easier. Put in anything you need to appeal to this market, but leave out anything that doesn’t have a compelling reason to be there.
This is why the Tungsten T5 looks the way it does. The T5, with its drive mode, Documents To Go, easy Outlook synchronization and nearly infinite standby time (thanks to the flash memory) is a perfect information device for mobile executives. It comes with a cable rather than a cradle because you need the cable for drive mode and a cable is easierr to pack. It doesn’t run Cobalt because it doesn’t need to and Garnet is cheaper, keeping the cost down. It doesn’t have WiFi because not all users need it, and those that do can buy PalmOne’s WiFi card; the cost stays lower for everyone else.
Targeted design is the real “Zen of Palm,” and it explains, rather well, why PalmOS devices still sell in better numbers than Windows Mobile devices. Rather than try to be everything to everybody, and doing it all in a mediocre fashion, PalmOS devices specialize in a particular type of user. Think about it. Compare the sleek and elegant Treo to the bulkier, try-to-do-everything iPAQ 6300. Which is the more efficient smartphone? Compare the Zodiad to… well, there hasn’t really been a Pocket PC really good at gaming since Casio quit, but you get the idea. Most PalmOS devices have a specific type of user in mind. You can really tell if you have someone mismatched to the wrong device. And that’s why when you find the right one, the fit feels natural, like the PDA was meant just for you.
This is where PalmOne still “gets it,” and why I wouldn’t hold my breath expecting them to make the ultimate “feature” PDA anytime soon.
5 Comments
The disappointment with the T5 wasn’t in its specs, but in what those specs cost. Most people would expect more for their $400. If pa1mOne had released this at $249, it would be considered a smash hit. They did this same thing with the T1 - a great PDA, but way overpriced.
I have to agree with anonymous.
Handhelds are useless if the user can’t afford them.
The Zen of Palm asks:
“How can the blacksmith learn to make the perfect horseshoe?”
Answer “Straight from the horse’s mouth.”
Meaning listen to the users requests and study their needs.
I request value for money. I’m sure if PalmOne studied my needs it would agree.
PRICE IS A FEATURE
>>>Targeted design is the real “Zen of Palm,” and it explains, rather well, why PalmOS devices still sell in better numbers than Windows Mobile devices.
– well, there went *that* “rule.” (See your latter posts!)
I think that this whole argument about the T5 will be proven in about 6-8 months when we see what direction Palm sales and marketshare go. If people indeed are looking for that perfect fit in their devices and embrace the “Zen of Palm” then it should be reflected in improved sales numbers.
If, on the other hand, we find that Palm’s sales and marketshare go down, I think that we can safely assume that people indeed are disappointed in the feature list that Palm has offered, and are going to other manufacturers to find it.
Also, I think that the one problem with your analysis of the T5 and hx4700 is ini the significance of built-in Wi-Fi. I would argue that Wi-Fi is no longer an esoteric “bell and whistle,” but has become a useful and desirable feature for the high-end PDA buyer. I strongly believe that the sort of person who plunks down $400 or more for a new PDA is someone who would find the ability to connect to their home network, or to a neighborhood “hotspot” a strong selling point.
Just my 2 cents. As always, I enjoy reading the opinions on your website.
TMann
I think that this whole argument about the T5 will be resolved in about 6-8 months when we see what direction Palm sales and marketshare go. If people indeed are looking for that perfect fit in their devices and embrace the “Zen of Palm” then it should be reflected in improved sales numbers.
If, on the other hand, we find that Palm’s sales and marketshare go down, I think that we can safely assume that people indeed are disappointed in the feature list that Palm has offered, and are going to other manufacturers to find it.
Also, I think that the one problem with your analysis of the T5 and hx4700 is ini the significance of built-in Wi-Fi. I would argue that Wi-Fi is no longer an esoteric “bell and whistle,” but has become a useful and desirable feature for the high-end PDA buyer. I strongly believe that the sort of person who plunks down $400 or more for a new PDA is someone who would find the ability to connect to their home Wi-Fi network, or to a neighborhood “hotspot” a strong selling point.
Just my 2 cents. As always, I enjoy reading the opinions on your website.
TMann
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