The Sad State Of The Palm Economy, And Other PDA Ramblings

Kent Pribbernow has gone off on a bit of a rant about the state of the PDA industry in general, explaining why he bought a Pocket PC and why it will probably be his last PDA. I found this comment particularly interesting: "It's almost too funny to watch Palm and Pocket PC users go at each others throats without realizing that BOTH SIDES have lost the war."

Kent acknowledges that PalmOS devices lose some of their vaunted stability and ease of use when adding third party software. He also notes that Windows Mobile is a sub-par user interface and that the quality of Pocket PC hardware has been declining. But his conclusion is short sided.

Kent thinks that PDAs have become marginalized between notebooks and smartphones. I don't see it that way. I think that a PDA and a Bluetooth-enabled "dumbphone" make a better, more flexible solution than either a notebook or a smartphone, and I wouldn't trade my Zodiac for any Pocket PC, much less an unpocketable notebook. I like having a truly pocketable office that is with me all the time, and the ability to connect to the net for email, IM and web browsing anywhere. One of Kent's biggest problems with PalmOS offerings is that they generally don't offer built-in WiFi, and that's true. What Kent hasn't realized yet is that WiFi is over, that the combination of Bluetooth and a 3G cell phone makes WiFi irrevelant. Why limit myself to only connecting to the net at "hotspots"?

The sky isn't falling, and the PDA isn't dead. Nice as smartphones are, I can do things on my Zodiac/T608 combination that simply aren't possible on a Treo 650. And even if I had $2,000 to spend on one, I wouldn't try carrying a Sony VAIO U75 in my pocket. Sorry Kent, but I'll stick with my PDA and get some real work done.