Not many of you agree with me that Palm
The Pro is roughly what you'd expect -- a Treo with a thinner frame, a wider screen, and enhanced capabilities, including Wi-Fi and a built-in Global Positioning System. (Does anyone else think that Garmin
It's a nice follow-up to the Centro, a $99 lightweight smartie that has proven to be an unqualified hit. On features, I think the Pro would have a chance to succeed as the Centro has. Certainly the design and feature set suggest to me that hiring Jon Rubinstein, who helped Apple
It's too bad because Palm's timing is perfect. The 3G iPhone has suffered dropped calls, and News.com reports that, while a software patch is helping, German chipmaker Infineon
So, if neither features nor timing is an issue with the Treo Pro, what is? Pricing. Palm is suggesting that retailers sell the device for $549, otherwise known as iPhone territory. Is the Pro really better than the iPhone or the BlackBerry? I say "better" because the Pro is the rebel here. The original iPhone proved that users would dump an incumbent for a rebel when the rebel is the better alternative. History hasn't been as kind to would-be rebels that weren't different enough, or at least differently priced.
The Treo Pro is neither, which means that -- in spite of its name -- it's still very much an amateur.
Get your clicks with related Foolishness:
- Apple has a killer iPhone strategy.
- Perhaps someday Palm will create the next iPod.
- For today, Palm has nothing up its sleeve.