Palm

There's always two sides to every story (as the saying goes). So, which side are you on?

The New York Times' Saul Hansell says: Is Palm's Comeback Losing Steam?

Fast Company's Chris Dannen says: Why the Times is Wrong to Be Bearish on Palm

Both writers make interesting points. So, let's just take a look at a few numbers...PALM (Palm's stock ticker) went from a 52-week low of $1.14 per share and then shot up to around $8 per share after its initial announcement. It kept going up to $18 per share by late September (quite an amazing run up) before settling in to around $12 per share where it now hovers. Yahoo! Finance's information says its profit margin is -195.37% (you read that right) with an operating margin of -79.14%. Year-over-year quarterly revenue growth was -81.5% (again, note that "minus" sign). Palm has $211.78 million in cash.

In September Silicon Beat noted that Palm had used $45 million in "operating activities" for the then previous quarter.

Palm's Uncertain Future And Its Accounting Change

If this operating burn rate remains flat, you can do the math on how long the remaining cash will last. Palm needs to move beyond selling its phones only through Sprint in the U.S. in order to start looking healthy in 2010. Or, they need to sell a bazillion Pixi's at $99 each (subsidized).

I find it interesting that the Twitter mobile app world is a free-for-all while there needs to be the one single official Facebook app for each major smartphone platform. The iPhone got the first one. Windows Mobile has one, and so does Android (a weak one, btw). Now there's a webOS official Facebook app...

Facebook finally comes to webOS, not with a bang but a whimper

And, EngadgetMobile says: it's about as barebones as they can get. I've never understood Facebook's appeal. So, I don't have strong feelings about any of these "official" Facebook apps. I am surprised it is so hard to create a somewhat uniform experience across the smartphone platforms though.

OK, Palm Pre fans, you now have...

webOS 1.3.1

...update goodness. Here's what's new...

- Backup: Includes browser cookies. No longer saves online account passwords
- Calendar: Yahoo! is now a calendar sync account option. Lots of bug fixes
- Camera: Tapping current picture preview opens full-screen view instead of thumbnail
- Contacts: Yahoo! is now a contacts sync option. Lots of bug fixes
- Device Info: Correct available memory displayed after deleting a musing file
- Email: Contact lookup across multiple Exchange Server Global Address List (GAL) {nice!}. Lots of fixes
- Messaging: Yahoo! IM supported
- Music: Tap screen below art to display playback slider
- Phone: Calendar notifications do not partially cover End Call icon while in a call
- Screen & Lock: New secure unlock preference. Simple PIN numeric PIN can be more than four digits
- Sounds & Ringtones: Pair of fixes
- System: USB drive mode accessed by pressing and holding orange key/Option + Sym + U = failsafe in case of display failure
- Tasks: Bug fix
- Videos: Widescreen videos not cropped anymore
- Web: Browser cookies backed up
- YouTube: Widescreen videos not cropped anymore

Photo courtesy of Palm

Palm's webOS based Pre hasn't set the smartphone world on fire or saved Sprint. But, it has developed a fan base. And, I've seen several "civilians" (non-techies -- regular people) carrying these things around "in the wild". Now, Palm and Sprint are launching another webOS based smartphone: The Palm Pixi.

The Pixi has the winning form factor of the Palm's Treo with a non-sliding keyboard under the screen (much like RIM's BlackBerry). Its small size, small price ($99 for new customers - with reports of it being available for as low as $29.99) and color touch screen should appeal to a different (and perhaps larger) customer base than the Pre.

Engadget's...

Palm Pixi review

...combines a number of good close-up Pixi photos with a detailed hands-on review.

I'm not planning on getting a Pre or Pixi to provide first-hand coverage of the platform. But, I will continue to note interesting reviews and developments here on MobileContentToday.

Hmm... The Free Software movement founder, Richard Stallman, makes the distinction between "free as in freedom" and "free as in beer" when talking about Free Software (he doesn't like the label "Open Source"). So, what is Palm up to with this?

Palm: Free Apps For The Web, Free Development For Open Source, And Free Phones! (TechCrunch)

- Apps can be distributed over the web through a direct URL (web address)
- Palm will NOT review apps
- Palm will waive the $99 yearly fee for Open Source apps
- Palm will share its analytical data with developers (unlike Apple)

This all sounds like good news for Pre developers. And, it sounds like a friendly gesture to Open Source developers (sorry, Mr. S.) that is especially appropriate given the Pre's webOS Linux roots. But, would Palm have made such grand gestures if the Pre were selling in large numbers? Or, is this a desperate attempt to build an app library?

Well, this didn't take very long...

Palm webOS 1.2.1 now available

What am I talking about? One of the two compatibility issues this minor point-dot release addresses:

1. iTunes sync working again
2. Exchange ActiveSync (EAS) mail syncing issue resovled (Exchange Server 2007)

Other issues resolves includes:

- Sync photo albums while maintaining album structure
- Sync photos without requiring full-resolution
- Media stream drops while playing streaming audio or video

My guess is that Apple will release iTunes 9.0.2 to remove webOS syncing within two weeks (maybe sooner).

From "The Official Palm Blog"...

What’s new in webOS 1.2?

Here's what's new:

- Adds LinkedIn contact syncing
- Filter email in a folder by typing a search term
- Songs from Amazon MP3 Store can be downloaded over WiFi or WAN (I assume WAN == 3G)
- Dial a number in a calendar note (very nice!)
- Copy/paste from web pages and email (very iPhone-esque late development)

Looks like Palm Pre owners have a very nice set of enhancements as the OTA (Over The Air) updates reach them. I wonder what the state of the "sync with iTunes" issue is with the recent iTunes update and this webOS update coming so close together.

Via Engadget

The most anticipated smartphone move is the long hoped for availability of an iPhone from Verizon Wireless. Though, perhaps, less anticipated, the availability of the Palm Pre from Verizon Wireless would probably be much more important to Palm than iPhone availability would be to Apple. It would seem reasonable to guess that selling the Pre to the gigantic Verizon customer base could only help Palm's bottom line. If Palm was depending on this (and they have never said anything about partnering with Verizon), this TheStreet.com story must be a huge disappointment...

Exclusive: Verizon Snubs Palm Pre

One commenter on TheStreet.com offered the theory that the Pre's strong sales for Sprint PCS prompted Sprint to extend the exclusive sales of the Pre beyond 2009. Interesting theory. But, have the Pre's sales really been "strong" so far? I have to admit that I have seen a lot more Pre-s "in the wild" than I expected. But, is it big enough for Sprint to puruse additional exclusivity?

We'll find out for sure early next year.

Buyout and merger speculations are always fun to watch from the outside (not usually as much fun from the inside). This week's big rumor appears to be (from Reuters)...

Palm shares rise on short covering, Nokia talk

Palm's entire future currently depends on the success of the Pre (ok, but not explosive so far) and Pixi. Palm probably has a year or so of cash reserves to burn through. A white knight rescuer probably looks pretty good to them right now.

Personally, I think it is just talk. But, here's some pros and cons that come to mind...

PROS
- Another Linux-based mobile platform to complement Nokia's existing Linux platform
- Provides foot-in-the-door to Sprint and, perhaps, other U.S. wireless carriers

CONS
- Another Linux-based mobile platform to confuse Nokia's customers
- Splits developers' resources
- No real synergy with existing Nokia platforms and products
- Palm is a potential drain on Nokia's own cash reserves

Sprint and Palm bet the farm on the Palm Pre to shake up the cell phone world and give the iPhone some real competition. The Pre didn't turn out to be an iPhone-killer. It seems to be doing well. But, is it doing enough to save the farm? Let's take a quick look at...

Palm Reports Q1 FY 2010 Results

...with an average guy untrained financial eye (mine).

- 823,000 smartphone units sold during the first quarter of fiscal year 2010 (which ended on Aug. 28, 2009). That doesn't sound like a lot of phones to me

- net loss applicable to common stockholders for the first quarter of fiscal year 2010 was $(164.5) million This, apparently, is less of a loss than analysts expected. But, it still doesn't look good to my untrained eye

- The company's cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments balance was $211.8 million at the end of the first quarter of fiscal year 2010. Cash used in operations for the first quarter of fiscal year 2010 was $45.1 million. So, they burned through $45.1 million during the last quarter and have $211.8 million in cash (or its equivalent). What does this mean? In the unlikely event that their burn rate is linear, they have enough cash to last through the Fall of 2010. It looks to me like Palm needs a huge holiday sales period to remain healthy enough to get to the end of calendar year (not fiscal year) 2010.