From: "Scott Herman" :
> [...]We are
> NOT the market. We like the elegance of our cute little bundled apps
> and data, and that tight binding works well for consumers using the
> appliance model, where the device is an appliance designed to fulfill
> a specific need. However the market perception of what these things
> are is changing. They are no longer just electronic organizers. They
> are now becoming thought of as Hand Held Personal Computers.
> [...]The point that Michael is making is that
> if Palm wants to continue to be a force in the handheld market it must
> provide what the market wants. Palm is relying, in large part on US,
> the developers, to provide what the market wants. They are also relying
> on us to tell them what we need, in terms of the OS, in order to deliver
> what the market wants.
> We, as developers, have alot invested in OS stability. We will tend to
> resist the changes that the market demands. We must get OUR heads out
> of the sand and talk to more users. [...]
I have got the feeling that the distance between Palm and the market is
progressively increasing. That is even more true here in Europe, where the
installed base is smaller, so that fewer people have enough experience to
decide what is right and what is wrong.
A large part of the problem is market education. Most of us are convinced of
the qualities of the Palm OS Platform. However, lots of people don't know
about PDAs when they buy their first one.
And guess what?
They buy the one with more MHz, more MB, more pixels, more colors, more
applications, simply because they feel more secure (and also sometimes
because the salesperson gets more money from a $700 sale than from a $500
one).
They also buy the machine they read about in the magazines. And magazines
love to talk about machines with bells and whistles rather than simple ones
(and also sometimes because the supporter of the machine buys lots of ads).
That is why I really believe that everyone has to make an effort to make
market education better. Explain to users why less is more, instead of
simply stating it.
-- Denis.
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