The written musings of a long-time Apple //e and Macintosh tech nerd. Opinions are my own.
This week on the 1SRC podcast, I tackle:
I’ve been talking a lot about makeovers and transformations that are probably going on at Palm. Now it is time for Palm to overhaul their marketing department.
September 2007 can been seen as the official kick off for all of the transformations that Palm is undergoing. To get things started, Palm sold a 27% state in the company to private equity firm Elevation Partners. Then all of the non-essential businesses where sidelined, including the Foleo mobile companion, the traditional handheld PDA business, and Palm’s retail locations. Next came staff reductions and realignment of the remaining teams. Palm has begun to roll out smartphones that are grabbing enthusiastic reviews. Coming up next up for Palm is a new Linux-based mobile operating system that will modernize the venerable Palm OS. With all the positive momentum being generated at the company, the time is right to overhaul their marketing department.
In less than a year, Palm has sold more than a million consumer-oriented Centro smartphones. And they are on track to sell 2 million units by the end of the year. All in all, Palm’s marketing has been resonating with customers looking to replace their feature flip phones. This is a very good thing for Palm. (Evidence also suggests that Palm may soon be able to break even or begin making money on their Centro smartphones.)
However, the events of this past weekend border on being reckless. Just in case you missed it, Palm launched a new edition of the AT&T Centro this weekend. The electric blue Centro went on sale this past Friday at AT&T retail locations and online at the Palm website. AT&T also implemented a temporary price cut for the Centro. You can now get an AT&T Centro for just $69.99 when you sign up for a qualifying 2-year service agreement. (The discount is in effect until September 20, 2008.) And then on Sunday, Sprint began selling the highly anticipated Palm Treo 800w smartphone. Reviews for the Treo 800w are just starting to come in, however, according to the Palm blog, people are writing things like; “ the best Treo ever,” and “the most productive Windows Mobile Pro device.” It is a same that the long lines weren’t for Palm’s new products and that no one heard Palm’s message because the new hardware was introduced during the insanity that was the international Apple iPhone 3G and iPhone 2.0 software launch.
With Palm running lean and mean, it seems that their marketing department isn’t on the same page as the management. How else can you explain Palm spending money to launch new devices during the same weekend as a major product launch as the iPhone 3G? Why not postpone the product introductions by a weekend? The only thing that I could dream up for a reason to roll out a new Centro this past weekend would be in a vain attempt to be disruptive of Apple’s iPhone launch. If that was the case, Palm’s plan backfired as Apple reported today that they sold over a million iPhone 3Gs internationally as of Sunday; the third day of the new iPhone’s availability.
In the time remaining between now and whenever Palm is ready to deliver the first products running Palm OS II/Nova, I hope that Palm takes a hard look at their marketing efforts. Palm OS II/Nova will probably be the single most important product developed by Palm over the next five years. Palm’s message about the new version of Palm OS and the devices that run it needs to be loud and clear.
There is still time for Palm to put their marketing house in order. To get the ball rolling, Palm has taken the first major step forward by bringing Elevation into the fold. Elevation brings the disciple of product execution to the table and product marketing needs to be part of project plan. Secondly, Palm has hired Lynn Fox away from Apple; a feat that I’m sure Palm Executive Chairman Jon Rubinstein had a hand in. In her role as director of Macintosh PR, Fox will know how to add the sizzle to Palm’s steak. Lastly, Palm needs to engage the media and the Palm user community in a combined marketing assault that gets the word out that a new Treo running Palm OS II/Nova will run circles around your current phone.
If Palm can generate excitement for their brand, their new Treo and Palm OS in advance of their delivering the smartphone that there customer base has been clamoring for, Palm won’t just have a smash hit on their hands, they will be on their way to being a meaningful player in the mobile computing field.
[Via 1SRC.com…]
I’ve posted this week’s 1SRC editorial, “You Can Do More”. In it, I talk about how Palm might help new customers learn more about all of the great third-party application software for the Centro smartphone.
You Can Do More
Palm is working hard to promote the Centro as a consumer oriented smartphone. Now they need to make sure that people upgrading from feature phones to the Centro know that it is easy to purchase and install third-party applications that can extend the utility of their phone.
I was talking to a friend of mine recently about the demographics of Apple iPhone and Palm Centro purchasers. We talked feature about phone users who might upgrade from a 12-key feature flip phone to a smartphone. Surely the iPhone is the current darling of the media. However, I don’t believe that brand awareness alone will drive sales. There are a few things that consumers consider before purchase a phone including: hardware costs, monthly subscription rates, features of the software, and whether or not the device is intended for work or entertainment.
It is the software and new customers that I would like to focus on. It is a long-standing fact that most people don’t install third-party software on their Palm smartphones. The last statistic that I recall reading said that about 33% of Palm owners do install third-party software. Let’s assume for a minute that the number is wrong and that 60% of customers install applications on their devices. That still leaves a whopping 40% of customers who are not realizing the full potential of their smartphones.
There are three things that I think that Palm can do to help raise consumer awareness of the vast software library available for the Centro smartphone. To raise awareness, Palm should focus on:
The object should not only be to inform new Palm customers of what their new Centro is capable of doing. Palm should be showing new customers how easy it is to find, purchase, and install these applications.
The in store display should be a no brainer. On my last trips to a Sprint/Nextel and AT&T location, there where stand up posters and ads all over the inside of the store. I don’t recall seeing any of the Palm information cards make mention the large library of software that was available for the Centro, the Treo 755p, or the Treo 750. The first step in getting the full utility out of a new phone should start at the retail location. Customers should know right form the get go that there is even more that the Centro can do than what is printed on the side of the box.
What if the customer purchases the new phone online? That’s where the in box card comes into play. The first thing a new Centro owner should see when they open the box is a card that briefly talks about doing more with the phone. Palm should pick a few category-defining applications to feature on the insert. Palm might feature games from Astraware, personal utility applications from SplashData, and multimedia applications from NormSoft and CoreCodec. (I also think that Palm should highlight ringtones, ringtone managers, and wallpapers, however, I doubt that the cellular carriers will allow them to get away with doing so.) When you think about it, Palm probably only has a few seconds to impress upon their customers that you can install additional software on the Centro. It might make more sense to put the Getting Started fold out poster on top and a software sticker on the inside of the box lid. I’ll leave it to Palm’s marketing department to iron out the details.
The last thing that Palm can do to help new customers add third-party applications to the Centro is by leveraging the currently in beta, MyPalm.com customer portal. By signing up for the free Palm service, new customers will not only get access to 24×7 support for their smart device, they should also be able to browse all of the content from the Palm Software Connection application web store.
One of the advantages of the MyPalm.com portal is the ability to download and install software on the Centro (and the Treo also) wirelessly over the air (OTA). When a customer finds an application that they would like to try or buy, they can click a button to send the software down to their device. Today, the MyPalm.com portal sends a SMS message to your phone with a download link in the body. When you tap the link, the software is downloaded to the device and the installer runs automatically. Installing software from the MyPalm.com portal onto the Centro OTA is a much easier and clearer way to install software. No one reads manuals anymore and requiring customers to try and figure out how to install software via the HotSync process is too complex for new users to have to deal with. The web portal and OTA installer is the better way to go. I really think that Palm is working on a solution like this. If you haven’t already done so, you should read A Palm Desktop Makeover.
In conclusion, I think that Palm and third-party application software developers have an opportunity to maximize customer awareness that the Centro can do more than a 12-key feature flip phone. This will, in turn, drive more software sales. In store, in box, and online advertising efforts can be used to help drive customers to the MyPalm.com portal where a wealth of new applications await them.
You can discuss this week’s editorial at 1SRC.com…
I just posted this week’s 1SRC Podcast. On the latest show, I cover the following:
1. Recap of Palm’s presentation from the Merrill Lynch tech conference.
2. USB analyst gives Palm stock a “sell” rating and why I think this guy is wrong.
3. Ringo has been updated with a free SMS sound pack.
4. Astraware Platypus gets reviewed this week.
5. Windows Mobile Minute: Oh where, oh where has my World Clock gone?
And, maybe, just maybe, there is a Foleo rant in there somewhere.
1SRC co-founder Joel Suplido has obtained a leaked Palm OS emulator for Apple’s wildly popular iPhone and iPod Touch. Of the emulator, Joel writes:
“The icons do look “ancient” but it’s great to see PalmOS again. Turning the iPhone sideways produces a much smaller screen. I do wish there’s a landscape version too!”
I know that many Palm OS fanboys/girls will be looking forward to the official release of the emulator along with Tyler Faux’s follow up to LudusP, Shark Radiology.
[Via 1SRC.com…]
Hope you all had a happy April Fool’s Day!
-Alan
I have posted this week’s 1SRC editorial, Operation: Top Secret.
“Back in November 2007, several tarp-covered tractor-trailer semi trucks rumbled down the streets of Sunnyvale in the pre-dawn light. The convoy’s destination, we now know, was 950 West Maude Avenue; Palm’s corporate headquarters. Over the last several months I have been working to discover exactly what the clandestine delivery was all about. After reviewing entries in the Palm purchasing system, I discovered an entry simply noted as “CoS.” Anyone who is versed in classic TV knows the CoS can only be Cone of Silence as seen in Get Smart. Apparently, Palm is putting their new acquisitions to good use.
While the though of Palm CEO Ed Colligan and Executive Chairman Jon Rubinstein buying surplus Cones of Silence seems comical, whatever these two Palm executives are going to plug leaks it is working.”
I have posted a review of the latest Astraware and Sandlot Games colaborative project, Westward over at 1SRC.com.
Astraware Westward is an adoption of the game of the same name from Sandlot Games. Westward is a family oriented strategy game for mobile devices. The object of Westward to is shepherd a small band of settlers with a few covered wagons into a bustling town full of colorful citizens while bringing the swindling “Mad Russian” to justice.
Go West Young Man
Learning to play Westward is easy. The first time you start up the game, Tutorial Teacher helps you along as you find your way through the first few game levels. There is also a built-in help system that describes the various game control elements if you are in need of a review when the Tutorial Teacher isn’t around. Learning the rules and game control elements only takes a few minutes. In the mobile edition of Westward, Astraware gives your preference to control the action with either the device’s directional pad (d-pad) or the stylus. While playing Westward, I found that the d-pad was acceptable for most tasks, but when I wanted to select a group of things, like the Sheriff Jenkins and his deputies, the stylus was easier to use.
I’ve posted this week’s 1SRC editorial; “Adios, Motricity.”
“After making a mess of one of the best mobile software portals, Motricity retreats to the west coast and dumps consumers for content and service providers.
Motrcity has decided to leave their direct to consumer businesses behind as they move to the west coast and engage in business with content providers, mobile operators, and businesses willing to contract with the company to deliver mobile “portals, storefronts, managed web and search,…[and] messaging gateway services”. (Read the press release)
In addition to ruining 2008 for the 250 employees who are getting laid off, Motricity decided that it would be a great idea to ruin the best online Palm software store, PalmGear.com, by rolling it up into the “revamped” PocketGear.com as a going away present. To add insult to injury, Motricity is looking to sell the PocketGear.com unit. I’m left wondering if it was even worth rolling the two sites together at all.
Looking back in hindsight, it makes perfect sense for Motricity to have consolidated their direct to consumer software online stores, PalmGear and PocketGear. Knowing that they were going to sell off the “non-profitable and non-core businesses”, rolling Palm and PocketGear into a single online store would make it more attractive to any company interested in buying the property. Unfortunately for whoever the new owner is, they will see that their work has been cut out for them. The repackaging of PocketGear.com has hurt the online retailer.
The roll up effort to migrate PalmGear.com into PockerGear wasn’t executed well. Much of the freeware and shareware applications had disappeared for some weeks. During that transition period, I was really turned off by entire user experience. In addition to not being able to find the software that I was looking for, as a Mac OS X user, I found the new site deign difficult to use. To this day, the drop down menus for device or mobile operating system selection still don’t work with FireFox 2.x. (During the transition, to Morticity’s credit, I never lost access to the software and registration codes I purchased from the PalmGear site.) Several months after the change over, the Palm OS software library is being represented on the site. Alexander Pruss’ FontSmoother is featured on the main page of the site. Great shareware applications like Tyler Faux’s LudusP are also once again available. And the popular freeware Palm OS file manager, FileZ, from NoSleep Software is available along with some 200+ freeware titles. However, are these efforts by Motricity to try and clean up PocketGear a bit too late?”
I’ve posted this week’s 1SRC Podcast. This week I cover:
I’ve posted this week’s 1SRC editorial, New Year’s Resolutions.
“With all eyes on Palm Executive Chairman Jon Rubinstein and his senior management team in 2008, here are some New Year’s resolutions the company might take under consideration.
Closing the Books on 2007
2007 was a tough year for Palm. Earnings were down for two consecutive quarters. The Treo 755p failed to meet the target delivery date for the crucial holiday shopping season for carrier partner Verizon Wireless. The Foleo mobile companion was cancelled just weeks before it was due to begin shipping. No new handheld PDAs were shipped. And Palm CEO Ed Colligan suggested that the new Linux-based operating system, “Palm OS II” as I call it, would not appear on devices until 2009.
There have been a few successes for Palm. The new Centro smartphone has been a hit. Currently available only from Sprint and in black onyx and ruby red, there are rumors of the imminent release of a new pink Centro on Sprint and the launch of a white GSM Centro on AT&T Wireless. And Palm sold about 27% of the company to private equity firm Elevation Partners.
Looking Ahead to 2008
This New Year, Palm should consider the following resolutions:
1. Drive “Palm OS II” to completion
The single largest liability for Palm right now is the age of its Palm OS 5 operating system. The current code base that powers the Treo 680, 755p, and Centro was never really intended to power smartphones. The new Linux operating system needs to be completed this year and certified by Palm’s major wireless carrier partners.
Some of the features that customers will be looking for in Palm OS II include:
• a true multitasking operating system (voice and data at the same time)
• an updated modular user interface that still preserves Palm’s ease of use
• robust file management tools that will interact with other Palm devices
• robust web browser and email client
• support for multiple active wireless radios (cellular, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi)”