Palm still waiting for new products to end losses
The Palm Centro is selling like hotcakes, but it's hurting Palm's margins.
(Credit: CNET Networks)Palm is still struggling as it awaits the arrival of new Treos and a new operating system.
The company on Thursday reported a net loss of $43.4 million for its fourth fiscal quarter, or 40 cents a share, compared with net income of $15.7 million last year. That loss is not as bad as it looks because of restructuring charges and the write-off of some bad debts, but even factoring all those charges out Palm still lost $23.9 million, or 22 cents a share. Analysts polled by Thomson One were hoping for 18 cents.
Palm's main problem, which also happens to be its biggest strength, is the Centro. Sales of the $99 smartphone have taken off, allowing Palm during the quarter to sell the highest number of smartphones directly to customers--968,000 units--in its history. Around 70 percent of Centro buyers are first-time smartphone owners, said CEO Ed Colligan on a conference call following Palm's results.
But Palm doesn't appear to make very much money on the sale of each Centro; Colligan danced around a question from a financial analyst regarding whether Palm makes any money from a Centro sale. He said the margins on the Centro are exceeding Palm's expectations, but that doesn't exactly answer the question of whether the Centro is a profitable device.
Either way, the Centro is keeping Palm's brand alive as it scrambles to get new Windows Mobile-based Treos out next quarter. The Treo refresh should allow Palm to command "competitive" pricing against other high-end smartphones, Colligan said, and will likely go a long way toward getting Palm back in the black.
But Palm's chances at once again becoming a relevant company in mobile computing hang on the development of its new operating system, which Colligan reiterated is on track to appear in new products in early 2009. The new Linux-based software, combined with "game-changing hardware" according to Colligan, is going to face strong competition from the likes of the LiMo Foundation, Google, and others when it finally arrives.
Tom Krazit writes about the ever-expanding world of Internet search, including Google, Yahoo, online advertising, and portals, as well as the evolution of mobile computing. He has written about traditional PC companies, chip manufacturers, and mobile computers, spending the last three years covering Apple. E-mail Tom. 
No?
Yeah, that's why I gave up and bought the HTC Mogul. If Apple ever gets out of the AT&T exclusive deal, you'll be buried in iPhones. Nice seeing you, goodbye.
1) I have thick thumb tips + finger tips.
2) As my friend said. After playing the guitar for a number of years, ones finger tips will natrually become rather tough and callousised (thick skinned) on the finger tips which keeps the fingers from blistering when strumming away at the strings over the years..... When that happens--- a problem developes because the Centro keys are soo small you can't feel them under your finger tips and you end up hitting multiple buttons with each push. The Centro should have a larger fold out keyboard model for users that don't want a super micro device that you may need a stylus for.
1) I have thick thumb tips + finger tips.
2) As my friend said. After playing the guitar for a number of years, ones finger tips will natrually become rather tough and callousised (thick skinned) on the finger tips which keeps the fingers from blistering when strumming away at the strings over the years..... When that happens--- a problem developes because the Centro keys are soo small you can't feel them under your finger tips and you end up hitting multiple buttons with each push. The Centro should have a larger fold out keyboard model for users that don't want a super micro device that you may need a stylus for.
After my 3rd Treo that went to the crapper, I got a HTC Mogul (PPC6800)., and it kicks the Treo 700wx butt
I just bought my wife a Centro. She loved her 650 and loves the Centro. She doesn't have a clue about multitasking / multithreaded capabilities. I don't think she even knows how to install software on her Palm. I'm not saying it's not a necessity; just that we aren't all bleeding-edge freakniks when it comes to "smart phones."
I'm now on a 700p. I've skipped the 755p becuase other than the form factor its basically the same and unlike the crappy 650, this one has physically been rock solid.
Hands down, palm still has the best handed navigation in the market and a very good size (not thickness) to usability ratio on the keyboard. (Except the Centro which is rediculously small)
But I have to reboot/reset multiple times per day. It's like working with windows 3.1 vs OSx.
Forget the fact that the UI is extremely tired. From a productivity standpoint, it can't multitask, the browser is virtually useless. The EVDO is real fast when ownloading a file which I rarely do, but isn't much faster than the old 650 because the browser renders so painfully slow and so visually poorly.
My next phone will be an iphone 3g. Sprint isn't that particularly great now that AT&T merged so has a better network than it used to. I will miss a real keyboard big time and will have to get used to being much less verbose on email, but everything else smokes the treo so bad, at substantially lower cost, that it isn't even funny...
- by thriftyT June 27, 2008 8:40 PM PDT
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(17 Comments)No one else is. I can not believe how anyone can think that Palm can be a viable company at this point. Their market share in the smart phone arena has totally evaporated in a span of 2 years. They were a leader 3 years ago and now their best-selling model is a blue light special which has sold 1 million units in 9 months. Apple sells/ will sell 1 million iPhones every month for the foreseeable future.
Full disclosure: I actually own a Palm Centro. It is an OK device. Good value, but already outdated.