AppleInsider | HP's Jon Rubinstein slams Android, takes on Apple's iPad: "Why webOS failed at Palm
Asked what he thought caused the downfall of Palm as an independent company after the 2009 launch of the Palm Pre, Rubinstein answered, 'I think that we did have many of the elements needed to be successful. We had a great team, we'd built a great operating system, we had a great product pipeline, we had relationships with carriers, a growing developer base. We had a half billion dollars in cash.
'But I think the market moved too fast, as far as the competition went,' Rubinstein said. While seeing 'a very clear way to get the company to profitability and continue on as an independent company, Palm 'didn't see a way to get to scale,' given the competitive landscape involving Apple, Google and Microsoft."
Asked what he thought caused the downfall of Palm as an independent company after the 2009 launch of the Palm Pre, Rubinstein answered, 'I think that we did have many of the elements needed to be successful. We had a great team, we'd built a great operating system, we had a great product pipeline, we had relationships with carriers, a growing developer base. We had a half billion dollars in cash.
'But I think the market moved too fast, as far as the competition went,' Rubinstein said. While seeing 'a very clear way to get the company to profitability and continue on as an independent company, Palm 'didn't see a way to get to scale,' given the competitive landscape involving Apple, Google and Microsoft."
After owning several Palm Pre phones, I can tell you why it failed: It was a piece of shit!
The quality of the phone was so poor that the most amazing OS in the world could not compensate. The mobile world is one in which hardware matters as much of not more than the operating system. Yes we demand fast, dependable applications and connectivity, but we also demand a product that does not break in a shirt pocket, that is not made of cheap, brittle plastics and screens that become unusable with fingerprints or scratches.
Palm missed the mark because they put too much emphasis on the operating system and not enough consideration to the actual device. Mobile user experience is much more dynamic and diverse that you have to consider the myriad of distractions, tactile and contextual factors involved that are just not the case when you are sitting in the comfort of your own home or office in front of a desktop computer.
No comments:
Post a Comment