palmOne CEO Todd Bradley Resigns

[Andrew]

From a business viewpoint things at palmOne are not so grand.  They got a little less grand when Wall Street decided the resignation by current palmOne CEO, Todd Bradley, could be an ill omen.  palmOne stock dropped 10% on the news.  Bradley has been with palmOne 3.5 years and had successes such as with the HandSpring buyout, but also saw major flubs in palmOne's own attempts at wireless devices such as the i705 and Tungsten W.

The not so grand wireless device releases that came under Bradley's reign at palmOne:

palmOne i705

palmOne Tungsten W

Ed Colligan, current President of palmOne, will be taking over the role of interim CEO while the company searches for a replacement to Bradley.  In my opinion, Ed Colligan always seemed more competent and in tune with the PDA and wireless industry than Bradley ever did, so maybe Colligan would make a good permanent replacement anyway.  Ed Colligan is well spoken, a stand-up guy and a former leader from HandSpring that is very knowledgeable about the wireless industry.  Bradley was an operations type of guy and just never had the same ability as Colligan to speak to a group of people or seem passionate about the PDA and wireless industry.

Whether Bradley was pressured to step aside is unknown, in a statement by the company Bradley said "I feel the time is right for me to move on to another challenge," so it's at least being framed as a personal decision on Bradley's part.  Worst case scenario for reasons behind this news is that Bradley is leaving now because he sees a sinking ship.  palmOne has warned analysts that it expects limited growth in PDA sales.  In addition, even though the Treo line of products has been a success, more and more competitive devices using the Microsoft SmartPhone OS are stealing market share from the popular Treo.  Furthermore, during the third quarter of 2004 for the first time ever more Microsoft Windows Mobile devices shipped than Palm OS so obviously palmOne is in trouble with this statistic being true.

Link to palmOne press release for Bradley resignation:

http://ir.thomsonfn.com/InvestorRelations/PubNewsStory.aspx?partner=5150&product=IR&storyid=126575

 

[fermi337]

I'm so sad. [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]

--fermi

If you really want something in this life, you have to work for it. Now quiet, they're about to announce the lottery numbers.

[fermi337]

What's "not so grand" about the tw and the i705?

--fermi

If you really want something in this life, you have to work for it. Now quiet, they're about to announce the lottery numbers.

[Adama D. Brown]

Well, the i705 had all the features and aesthetic appeal of a calculator watch, and the TW lacked OS 5.

[fermi337]

And it cost over 500 dollars when released? That's a joke.

--fermi

If you really want something in this life, you have to work for it. Now quiet, they're about to announce the lottery numbers.

[Austin]

PalmOne is left behind in technology compare with import models like imate and etc.[?] I wish PalmOne can produce compact smartphone like imate jam.

[Brian]

And the stock is down another 5% already this morning. Oh well...if not for the Treo, this company would likely have been bought out or collapsed by now.

Editor in Chief
www.bargainPDA.com
www.SPOTstop.com

[Brian]

LOL, believe me, we advise them every few months when we meet with their people. They just don't listen! LOL

Editor in Chief
www.bargainPDA.com
www.SPOTstop.com

[Austin]

I really wish palmOne to improve their product line since there are a few manufacturer left in U.S market.
PalmONe is really the pioneer of Palm OS PDA in U.S. Could bargainpda senior editors give advise to Senior Management?

[fermi337]

If the new Ceo, is better, we could see a nice looking t7 or treo 700.

--fermi

If you really want something in this life, you have to work for it. Now quiet, they're about to announce the lottery numbers.