Dell Not Going to License the Palm OS

Ed Hardy · 11-19-2003, 05:36 PM

The founder of Dell said yesterday that that his company currently has no plans to become a Palm OS licensee. A company executive had raised this possibility last year.

Read more at http://www.brighthand.com/article/De...icense_Palm_OS

Bulverde · 11-19-2003, 08:34 PM

When we look back at the history of Palm OS a few years from now, we will wonder what might have transpired had Palm spun-off PalmSource a year or two earlier while they still had the hot platform.

With Palm OS 6 on the horizon, I was expecting PalmSource to announce at least one major new licensee shortly after the spin-off, but now it appears nobody is interested.

I think it is safe to say that Eric Benhamou and Carl Yankowski put this company on the path toward oblivion.

Timothy Rapson · 11-20-2003, 08:06 AM

This is too bad. I like Dell. I like their philosophy of business. They seem to be in it not just to make money but to provide the best, products and service at the lowest cost. Their model with no retailer makes great sense in this Internet era.

I generally grudge the big brand names their big profits. HP and Sony in particular seem to be business just to make money, not PDAs. I paid a premium price for my Clie thinking I would get solid support from a profitable, responsibl company. They lied to all their customers over the 1 gig memory sticks.

Palm has only recently (since the Zire 71) had any products I was interested in. They are finaly offering decent value for their PDAs. Dell is the champ at value and I would surely be in line for an Axim or 5 if they sold them with the Palm OS or Linux. I can't see how either would take any effort.

reidme · 11-20-2003, 08:24 AM

Yawn... Who cares if there's no Palm from Dull Computers.

Mike Cane · 11-20-2003, 08:30 AM

"... at this time ..." are the key words.

OS6 ain't been seen yet.

Let them repeat that next year and I'll believe them.

And, gee, Gateway is just selling oodles of Pocket PCs, eh wot?

imported_CSimpson · 11-20-2003, 11:34 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Timothy Rapson
I paid a premium price for my Clie thinking I would get solid support from a profitable, responsibl company.

I don't know if my experience was typical or not, but I was very disappointed in Dell after buying an Axim X-5. The device had some nice points, but also had some technical issues which were a nightmare to address through Dell's technical support. I ended up getting absolutely no resolution to my problems, and returned the device within the 30-day refund period. In light of this, I'm not sorry at all that they're not licensing PalmOS.
I don't know about Dell's priorities when it comes to user experience vs. profits. While they do offer very low hardware prices, I think they make up for this in their individual consumer sales with their astromomical interest rates for financed purchases. As far as followup support, apart from my experience with the Axim, I hear a 50/50 split among desktop buyers-- some love Dell and its support, while others hate it. I guess I'll have to remain Dell-Agnostic for now ;-)

pocketfactory · 11-20-2003, 11:44 AM

Maybe the real question is; would PalmSource license their OS to Dell? Judging from past remarks made by Nagel, I would say no. And don't forget they turned Toshiba down. Remember, PalmSource says they only want innovative companies that can carry PalmOS into new markets. Dell hardly fits that profile.

pocketfactory · 11-20-2003, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Mike Cane
And, gee, Gateway is just selling oodles of Pocket PCs, eh wot?

So is JVC.

gfunkmagic · 11-20-2003, 10:28 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Foo Fighter
Maybe the real question is; would PalmSource license their OS to Dell? Judging from past remarks made by Nagel, I would say no. And don't forget they turned Toshiba down...

I recall reading somewhere a PalmSource exec admitting that was a mistake (I'll try to find a link). Anyhoo, I was really excited a month ago when Nagel claimed PalmSource was in talks with Sony Ericsson to become a lisencee. Even though SE later denied this, I hope something does eventually come out of this...

Mike Cane · 11-21-2003, 05:29 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Foo Fighter
Maybe the real question is; would PalmSource license their OS to Dell? Judging from past remarks made by Nagel, I would say no. And don't forget they turned Toshiba down.

Other way round: PalmOS didn't have what Toshi wanted, so they went PPC.

To paraphrase Governator Arhnold: They'll be bach!