Since the beginning of the year, I have seen a number of changes in the way that Palm has been conducting business.  And, I'm happy to report, these changes are not only good for Palm, but for their customers as well.

Ask and You Shall Receive

A few weeks ago, a rumor started on the Internet that suggested Palm had ceased manufacturing the LifeDrive Mobile Manager.  Picking up on the initial report several other websites also reported the rumor.  You can see how this rumor easily got out of hand.  Just in case you haven't heard, Palm has come out and clearly stated that the rumor was untrue and that Palm is still manufacturing and supporting their LifeDrive Mobile Manager handheld. Marlene Somsak, Vice President, Corporate Communications, at Palm made the following statement, “Palm continues to manufacture LifeDrive Mobile Managers."

How did we find out the rumor was untrue?  And how could we have avoided this rumor from getting out of hand in the first place?  The statement from Palm came when a writer for Palm Addicts, PJ Arts, contacted someone at Palm and received a clarification.  In the future, I urge people covering Palm and their products and posting articles for Internet websites to please verify their facts before posting rumors and hearsay.  Not checking facts and reporting on unverified claims hurts your credibility, the credibility of the site you are writing for, or Palm, but also misleads customers who rely on the Internet for information about products and services.  So, please, take a few minutes to get your facts straight before posting baseless articles and comments.  Palm’s new culture change means that they will provide you with the correct information.

Upgrading Customer Experience

Another positive change that I’ve seen Palm make is the release of their VersaMail 3.5 e-mail client for sale on PalmGear.com.  While I’m still waiting to hear back from my Palm contact if software upgrades for some of Palm’s other products will also be available in the future, I feel that the sale of VersaMail is a step in the right direction.

I had been lobbying for software upgrades for some time now.  And so when I saw that the upgrade had become available, I purchased and downloaded the upgrade for my LifeDrive and Tungsten T5.  The upgrade worked well and kept all of my previous software settings and messages.  The VersaMail 3.5 upgrade is intended for devices that are running Palm OS 5.4 or later and thereby limiting the devices that can be upgraded to the current handheld and smartphone lineups.  In the future, I hope that Palm also releases other upgrades such as Blazer 4.5, which now allows you to download files larger than 2MBs.  (In the meantime, Ludus Technologies’ SharkDownload might help with downloading larger files.)

In Conclusion

These are just two examples of how Palm is moving to better support their customers.  Other notable examples of Palm’s willingness to listen to their customers is the inclusion of Wi-Fi in newer devices such as the Palm T|X and the inclusion of more DBCache space and a 1.3MP camera on the Treo 700p.  And Palm has quickly acknowledged the issues with the white screen lag with Blazer 4.5 and audio skipping in NormSoft’s PocketTunes (Palm KB Article 42632), both issues are being reported on the Treo 700p by some customers.  There are some other examples of Palm’s transparency and willingness to work with their customers.  In short, Palm’s got a new groove.