Palm CEO holds court on patents, Pre
Palm CEO Ed Colligan is more worried about the Pre launch then a looming patent war with Apple.
(Credit: Corrine Schulze/CNET Networks)Palm CEO Ed Colligan does not appear worried about the recent flap over Apple's multitouch patents.
Apple COO Tim Cook touched off a storm of speculation a few weeks ago when he declared Apple's willingness to go after anybody who tries to rip off the iPhone's intellectual property, and based on the context of the question posed to him, it appeared he was sending a warning shot across the bow of Palm's Pre smartphone. But Colligan downplayed the significance of the dispute Wednesday morning at the Thomas Wiesel Technology and Telecom Conference in San Francisco.
Companies assemble patents and make sure the industry is aware of their portfolio with defensive purposes in mind, Colligan said.
The whole area of patents is elaborate; (there are) a lot of issues there, and a very complex area. One of the things we've done over 15 years is build a very extensive patent portfolio in the mobile computing space, one of the highest-rated patent portfolios in this space, which contains more than 1,500 patents. And the reason you do that is to have a defensive position in the marketplace. It's kind of like two little porcupines going around, and you don't want to touch each other because you might get stung. You peacefully coexist and everything's OK and we keep working together.
Colligan took great pains to point out that no legal action has taken place between Palm and Apple as of this morning, and blamed "speculation" for much of the hand-wringing over whether a recently awarded patent for Apple's iPhone would prompt the company to go after Palm, especially in light of Cook's comments. Patent law is indeed complex, as anyone who has followed a patent trial can attest; patents can be interpreted in very different ways by judges and juries, and cases can drag on for years.
Still, any legal challenge would likely wait until after the Pre ships. Colligan did not shed any more light on that question, but addressed a number of Pre-related issues during his talk, as pieced together by PreCentral.
The Palm OS is officially dead, having been on life support for nearly five years. Palm will concentrate on its WebOS phones, such as the Pre, and its Windows Mobile phones in the future, Colligan confirmed.
Palm will offer a central application storefront, as expected, but will also let Pre owners download applications from external sources, one of the key questions following the device's introduction. Palm OS developers have long been accustomed to such an arrangement, and didn't appear keen on an Apple-style App Store where no external sites can officially distribute iPhone applications.
The key question regarding the Pre--its price--was not specifically addressed by Colligan. But he said that in the long term, Palm wants to return to enjoying gross margins of at least 30 percent, and that Sprint plans to make "a significant investment" into the price of the Pre, implying a heavy subsidy. Colligan vowed to price the Pre "at the right price level for the marketplace" while still attaining those margins.
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. 
So are we done with the idiotic speculations yet?
Although i probably wont get it till is jailbroken or unlocked, i still see lots of potential in this phone.
It bugs me thought that i do think that they did things too similar to apple, but yet i think they should not be sued. let the competition bring benefits for us all
Meaning they're really on the death's door, before the unveiling of the Pre. This is their saving grace. If they can't get this off the ground, they are dead. So, there's really nothing for them to lose. If they don't release it, they're easily going to be discarded. If they do, they might have to do battle with Apple, but atleast they got a chance.
I'll still be purchasing an iPhone, this summer though! ;)
How about this. The product life for the newton was discontinued in 1995, The first palm pda came out in 1996.
- by Noneyabeeswax February 12, 2009 10:21 AM PST
- Well Sprint definitely needs the sales this phone would generate. And it would give CDMA users a shot at a phone similar if not the same a an iphone. It might help Sprint retain their hemorrhaging customer base. And if they can get their customer satisfaction rates up by actually providing decent customer service.
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(15 Comments)I'm sure a lot of the stagnation in sales and losses of customers from other carriers were due to the iphone.
But there is that rumor about Apple vending to other carriers, and a subsidized iphone would only cost the customer 99.00, along with a more reasonable monthly fee structure for phone service. If Apple does that before Palm releases their new phone, Palm may find themselves scrambling for the stragglers from the stampede. And any lawsuit would be a moot point anyway. Apple is just trying to keep their phone from having any serious competitors. Why would Apple bother with spending millions on a lawsuit if they can gain ground in a much better way by taking a great big juicy slice of the market by making their iphone available though other carriers? And without all the expensive legal fees.