Operation: Marketshare

Over the past few weeks I’ve been noticing the Cingular 3125.  It is showing up in newspaper ads.  I’ve seen it in weekly computer trade rags and even in popular culture magazines you can find in the check out line at the grocery store check out lane.  Once I noticed it about three weeks ago, it has been popping up everywhere. (Have you heard the Lewis Black skit about the bear following you around?)

So I started to think, why couldn’t we have a Cingular 3125p, you know, the same kind of phone running the Palm OS.  For those of you who haven’t yet seen the 3125, it’s a small, thin, black flip feature phone that has a 12-key dial pad.  It has a 2.2-inch display, 64MB of RAM, a 1.3 megapixel camera, Bluetooth, and a mini-USB port.  And as you might have guessed, this phone runs the Windows Mobile 5.0 Smartphone operating system.

This Can Work

Since we’re talking pie in the sky here, let’s take a look at how this might work.  Spending a few minutes searching the web reveals that the Cingular 3125 is really the HTC Star Trek phone.  HTC, or High Tech Computing, is an original equipment manufacturer (ODM) that basically designs smartphones either with or for companies like Palm and Hewlett-Packard.  HTC, by the way, is already a business partner with Palm.  Leveraging that existing partnership should help smooth the development and manufacturing process for a 3125-like device.

Current Palm devices, both PDA handhelds and smartphones, use Intel’s Xscale processor.  The 3125 has a TI OMAP 850 processor inside.  Again, this shouldn’t be a huge problem.  The original Palm Tungsten T (October, 2002) ran Palm OS 5.0 on a TI OMAP 1510 processor.

On the memory front, the 3125 has 64MB of SDRAM and a 128MB FlashROM.  That should be more than enough space for Palm OS 5.  The current crop of Treos have 64MB of NVFS storage.  According to the Smartphone & Pocket PC 2007 Buyer’s Guide, the 3125 storage capacity can be expanded through the use of the built-in micro SD slot. 

The most important part of a Palm 3125-like device would be the Palm OS.  Sure, Palm would have to recompile the Palm OS and the core PIM applications to run on the TI processor.  Sure the touch screen, stylus, and Qwerty keyboard would be gone, but it would still be the Palm OS.  Who needs the stylus or full size keyboard anyway?  The 5-way navigation built into Palm OS 5.4.x really cuts down on the need to pull out the stylus anyway.

Just focus in on the PIMs for a second.  With a HotSync connection to Microsoft Outlook or Palm Desktop, it would be very easy for the data addiction to the Palm OS Contacts, Calendar, Tasks, and Memo applications to form.

Throw in slimmer versions of SMS/MMS, Pocket Tunes, and Pics & Videos and you’ll round out the software for this new device.

Why It Won’t Happen

From the beginning, the Treo has always been about easy of use and delivering the best features of a cell phone and a take-it-with-you-all-the-time mobile computer.  I believe that Palm continues to deliver on this vision.  And that is why we won’t be seeing a 3125-like feature flip phone from Palm any time soon.

Various Palm employees have gone on record throughout 2006 stating that Palm is going to continue to refine and develop new innovations in the Treo line.  These same people have also stated that Palm is unwilling to sacrifice what they see as key features of the Treo, including the Qwerty keyboard, the touch screen, great software, and a battery that delivers a full day’s use on a single charge. 

When developing new products, Palm continually re-evaluates the features vs. cost position.  The more features a device has, the more it will cost and trade offs have to be made to keep things balanced.  Yes, Palm could put a 2MP+ camera in a Treo, but it will increase the price.  To keep the unit price down, Palm chose to go with a VGA low-light camera instead.

Still convinced that Palm needs to have a Treo modeled after the 3125?  Not so fast.  With the Treo 680, Palm is focusing in on cost conscience consumers.  And while Palm is targeting consumers with the Treo 680, they are not going after the feature phone segment.

In a recent TreoCentral video interview with Treo 680 product manager Phil McClendon, we learn that Palm is trying to expand the smartphone market by making the 680 more like a feature phone while keeping all of the great features that make a Treo, well, a Treo.  With a competitive price point, consumers looking for a full function feature phone could be enticed to make the jump to the Treo smartphone.  Or so goes the logic.  It could work.  The Cingular 3125 retails for about $300 and the Treo 680 is rumored to cost less than that with a new service contract.

Conclusion

There are lots of people who continue to gripe that Palm needs to have a feature flip phone.  (Do not mistake what I’m saying.  I’m not griping here.)  And some day, as part of a phased approach to the fiercely competitive feature phone market, Palm may release a device like the Cingular 3125 based on the HTC Star Trek phone.  Right now, Palm is focusing on what they do best which is delivering full function, easy to use smartphones.