Palm will now sink or swim on its own operating system. The struggling handset maker announced Thursday that it will no longer develop phones using Windows Mobile, but will instead concentrate only on its webOS.
Palm has been developing Windows Mobile-based devices since 2005, but this year it launched its long-awaited Linux-based webOS, which has been receiving positive reviews. In fact, some reviewers have said it is a better OS than Windows Mobile.
Sprint May Be a Factor
Palm will still be selling the popular Centro, based on the earlier Palm OS, and the Windows-based Treo.
The announcement came during a conference call with analysts and media, following reports for its first fiscal quarter that showed Palm shipped more than 800,000 smartphones. This was up more than 130 percent from its previous quarter, but 30 percent less than the same quarter last year.
The Palm Pre, its first webOS product, is currently available in the U.S. only through Sprint Nextel.
Avi Greengart, an analyst with industry research firm Current Analysis, said the sales figures were “disappointing relative to other high-profile launches.” But he noted that it isn’t clear if customers weren’t interested in webOS devices, or if they weren’t interested in a webOS device through Sprint.
When the Pre first came out, demand seemed strong. In fact, there were reports that the supply couldn’t quite keep up with demand, although the supply problem appears to have since been resolved.
Verizon Picking Up Pre
Sprint has been struggling with its customer base, and Greengart said a better test of Palm’s Pre will be when it moves to other carriers, such as Verizon Wireless or AT&T. “Verizon has been quite public about wanting to pick up the Pre” after Sprint’s exclusive period runs out, he said.
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