In the last few weeks, easily the biggest story in the mobile device market has been the announcement of the first generation of Ultra Mobile PCs (UMPCs).
Eventually, these will be pocket-sized, inexpensive, Windows computers.
The first models, though, will be too big to be pocketable and cost more than even the most expensive Palm OS devices.
This gives Palm, Inc. a window of opportunity.
Ahead... for Now
Palm already has a device that is capable of competing with these first-generation UMPCs. You might have heard of it; it's called the LifeDrive Mobile manager.
It can handle Microsoft Office documents in their native formats, surf the Web, store hours of video and audio, handle email, and much more. It also fits in your pocket.
Because it doesn't run a full version of windows, this handheld has many advantages. It offers instant on, for example, and performs well on a 400 MHz processor. Windows, on the other hand, tends to wake up slowly and perform poorly on even a 1 GHz processor.
The LifeDrive also costs hundreds of dollars less than any of the UMPCs that are going to come out this year.
This might tempt Palm's top executives to feel overly confident. I can only hope this doesn't happen. These people must keep in mind that the second generation of UMPCs will offer features that will leave the original LifeDrive in the dust.
The companies behind the UMPC movement promise that future models will be much smaller and have vastly greater battery lives. At the same time they will drop significantly in price.
If Palm hopes to compete it will need to evolve as well.
Bring on the LifeDrive 2, 3, 4...
If Palm wants to keep ahead of the competition it needs to keep updating the LifeDrive.
The most obvious way to do this is release a LifeDrive 2 with a larger internal hard drive. There can be little doubt that the jump to a 6 GB version is the minimum people will accept, but a 8 GB LifeDrive would be much better.
I also believe that the Mobile Manager line must move to a VGA screen as soon as possible, but I've become reconciled to the fact that that this won't happen for at least another year, when a Palm OS for Linux model could hit the market.
In addition, adding USB host support to the next-generation LifeDrive is a good idea. This would allow it to use standard keyboards, mice, and keydrives... a feature that will already be available in the first UMPCs.
Eventually, a future Mobile manager must come with support for a high-resolution external monitor.
Think of it, while you were on the road you could use your handheld just as you always have. Then, when you got back to your office, you could put the handheld down on a desk, plug a keyboard, mouse, and monitor into it, and use it as if it were a desktop computer.
Follow the Money
I know, Palm, Inc. has made it pretty clear that much of its focus is on smartphones. But focusing exclusively on this one class of devices would be a mistake.
Around the world, there are a huge number of long-time Palm users who don't want a smartphone. The primary reason these people reject these devices is because they typically offer small screens, but the the fact that Palm OS smartphones rarely offer cutting-edge features also factors in.
What these people want is for Palm to keep improving the Mobile manager line by bringing in ever more advanced features. With Wi-Fi and Bluetooth these handhelds can do everything a smartphone can do, while offering features not available in any other mobile device.
If Palm doesn't give them the handheld that they want, then these people will essentially be forced to turn to Ultra Mobile PCs.
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