Windows Mobile 6.0: Just What Palm Wanted
It is widely expected that Microsoft will be officially announcing Windows Mobile 6.0 at this week’s 3GSM World Congress conference in Barcelona, Spain. And that can be some good news for Palm.
Setting the stage
I for one was a bit shocked to have learned back in September 2005 that Palm had been working with Microsoft to enhance Windows Mobile 5.0. This enhanced version of Windows Mobile would be the operating system to power three of the new Treo smartphones released in 2006. Unlike their Palm OS counterparts, Treo smartphones running Windows Mobile 5.0 ran at a lower screen resolution. A year later, we discovered that Microsoft had released to manufacturing a new version of Windows Mobile, codenamed “Crossbow,” which we now know is called Windows Mobile 6.0.
While Windows Mobile was being developed there was no public mention of whether or not Palm had contributed to the design. What we do know is that Windows Mobile 6.0 closely resembles the new user interface (UI) found in Microsoft’s other new operating system, Windows Vista. Aesthetics aside, what else did Microsoft add to Windows Mobile 6.0 that could be of interest to Palm?
Basically Windows Mobile 6.0 is a number of bug fixes and enhancements over Windows Mobile 5.0. Some journalists are reporting that Windows Mobile 6.0 should have been called Windows Mobile 5.5 or Windows Mobile 5.0: Second Edition. (Palm OS users, be ready for another round of the Palm OS is dead non-sense.) Regardless of all the changes that Microsoft has made to Windows Mobile, there is one enhancement that caught my attention: Windows Mobile 6.0 supports the 320x320 screen resolution according to a recent PC Magazine article. How very interesting.
Executing the plan
So Windows Mobile now supports the same screen resolution as the beloved Treo 700p, the winner of many best in class smartphone awards for 2006. As a fan of the Palm OS, you might be worried to learn that Windows Mobile runs at the same screen resolution Palm OS Treos. And begin to wonder if there is now one less reason to purchase a Palm OS Treo. Hogwash! I don’t think that is true.
What I think is really going on here is that Ed Colligan and his lieutenants are executing on a plan that will help Palm achieve three things:
- Unified hardware platform
- Improved negotiating power with vendors
- Enhanced quality control
In an open letter to the Palm customer base, Steve Sinclari, Palm’s Sr. Product Manager for Palm OS Wireless Products, stated the following while discussing the lag issue in the Treo 700p:
“Aside from working with [third-party] developers to minimize the lag while switching to/from their apps, there isn’t much we can do to alleviate this as it is partly a result of the shared hardware design between the Treo 700p and Treo 700w/wx.”
This tells me that at this stage of the game, there is very little difference between a Palm OS Treo and a Windows Mobile Treo. As far as I can tell, the main differences are the screen resolution and the hardware button bar that surrounds the 5-way navigator. If you have ever taken apart a Treo, you know that the button bar probably isn’t the most expensive part of the Treo. It would seem to me then; having a single hardware design was a management decision to help save time, resources, and money. Having to purchase two of the same sized, but different resolution displays (320x320 for Palm OS, 240x240 for Windows Mobile 5.0) for the Treo must be really annoying for Palm when the other aspects of the hardware are the same. I’m sure Palm would be able to negotiate a better price on the LCD displays used in the Treo if they were able to buy a single part from their vendor(s).
If a single hardware design philosophy is being adopted by Palm, their hardware and software engineers should be able to more quickly familiarize themselves with the design and lower the learning curve each time they work on a new Treo. Additionally, if everyone is working off the same design, when a solution is found for one problem, by extension, it is reasonable to believe that the same solution would also work for the other devices based on that singular hardware design. The consolidation of the hardware designs and the components used to build them should have a positive effect on Palm and help them improve the quality of their products. In short, fewer mistakes should be made if you are familiar with the design.
In conclusion
What does all of this talk about hardware really have to do with Microsoft releasing Windows Mobile 6.0 this week? Not much, really. The important feature in Windows Mobile 6.0, from Palm’s perspective anyway, is that they can finally ditch the 240x240 resolution displays and consolidate their hardware designs. And while that doesn’t help today’s Treo 700w, 700wx, or 750 customers, it will help make a positive impact on future Treo smartphones.
It has been rumored that Palm is hard at work on the Treo 770, a GPRS/UMTS Windows Mobile device. When you look at the product specs for this rumored Treo on Internet bulletin boards, there didn’t seem to be much to get excited about. When you toss in a new Windows Vista, Office 2007, and Exchange 2007 compatible mobile operating system, an enhanced screen resolution, the new antenna-less Treo design, and possibly more memory, the Treo 770 starts to look like a worth while upgrade.
When you start to look at these little improvements as pieces to a much larger picture, you begin to see how Palm is changing their company, and their products, for the better. And if Windows Mobile 6.0 helps Palm get there, then I’m all for it.
I’d like to hear your thoughts on Windows Mobile 6.0 and the Treo in our discussion forums.
