Newsgroup: it.comp.hardware.palmari
Titolo: Apple e palmari

Lungi da me ogni intento flammatorio, vorrei sapere cosa ne pensate. E' il
nuovo editoriale di 1SRC, lo trovate anche su 
1src.com
Les
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Ever since Sony left the handheld market, the Palm OS platform has been
somewhat stagnant.
Oh, don't get me wrong, Palm, Inc. has put out some very good devices, but
these have been quite conservative. While I admire this company's nerve in
being one of the first to put a hard drive in a handheld, aside from this
the LifeDrive is hardly a cutting-edge device.
It has the same general form factor as the very first PDA this company ever
made, it runs an outdated operating system, and its screen resolution is
identical to devices that came out almost four years ago.
And the rest Palm's product line has been even safer.
If it wants to appeal to the entire spectrum of potential customers, it
seems clear that the Palm platform needs a company that pushes the envelope.
That's what Sony used to do. But Sony is gone and another company needs to
step into its place.
To me, it seems obvious that there is only one company capable of doing
this: Apple, Inc.
The Once and Future Handheld Maker
I'm sure that most of you are well aware that Apple made some of the first
handhelds. Heck, the company's CEO John Sculley even coined the term "PDA".
But it left the market in the late 90s, after Scully was ousted by Steve
Jobs.
Ever since then, many people have been clamoring for Apple to release a new
mobile device. Every few months there are rumors of a new Apple handheld or
smartphone, but none of these ever turn out to be correct.
Finally, the time is right, and the Palm OS is clearly the best option.
A Win-Win-Win Situation
With its long experience in desktops and laptops, Apple could certainly
develop its own operating system for mobile devices. But that would be a
huge waste of time and money.
A few years ago, this company decided to bet its fortunes on Linux. Many
predicted doom when Mac OS X came out, but these naysayers have been shown
to be utterly incorrect. Clearly, some of the best Linux developers in the
world work for Apple.
(Yes, you can argue the technical point as to whether Apple and Palm are
using UNIX or Linux, but the differences between the two are not significant
enough to invalidate the point I'm making. Please, don't be pedantic.)
Now the Palm OS is also going down the Linux path. With a Palm OS license,
it would be easy for Apple to take an already developed mobile operating
system and add its special flair.
And Apple could bring something unique to this platform: its skill at
creating innovative hardware.
As a result, PalmSource would get a licensee capable of competing with the
best of them, Apple wouldn't have to start from scratch with its next mobile
device, and we'd get a bunch of cutting-edge devices.
A Jump-Start for Apple
If there are any Apple designers reading this who are just beginning to
think about creating a handheld or smartphone, let me save you some time by
letting you know what many Palm OS users want that isn't available now.
In a word: clamshell. Palm, Inc. has utterly ignored this segment of the
market.
Really big hard drives. With Apple's contacts in the microdrive market,
there's no reason why a 40 GB -- or even 80 GB -- handheld shouldn't be
available soon. And iTunes support is a no-brainer.
Really high resolution screens. Palm, Inc. has proven very conservative in
this area. You could easily leap ahead with a VGA display.
Very slick looking models. The iPod has carved out a niche for itself with
its outstanding designs. A handheld that's just as cool looking would fly
off the shelves.
The Time Is Now
It isn't often that a situation comes along like the one we have now.
There are people clamoring for a handheld or smartphone from Apple, while
there's going to be a mobile operating system available soon that seems
tailor made for this company.
Apple, please have the courage to take the obvious step.
============================================
--
Leva...ti per rispondere in email
http://a-traves.blogspot.com

 Lungi da me ogni intento flammatorio, vorrei sapere cosa ne pensate. E' il
Bello. Molto bello è lucido. Un po' pindarico (Jobs sembra fregarsene
dei palmari), ma molto bello, analitico e posato. Hardware designed by
cupertino, PalmOS come sistema (dopotutto Darwin è un unixoide
).
Peccato che lo scenario sia ipotetico, poichè PalmOS finchè era il
figlio di BeOS stand alone, ad Apple avrebbe fatto comodo: ora è un
fritto misto di layer software...e comunque Apple ha già il suo gestore
gui e layer per la gui, Aqua. Se OSX gira su un G3@233MHz, e benino,
perchè non su xscale o bulverde?
Appunto, sognante come redazionale, ma senz'altro meglio delle marchette
di altri web magazine.
-- 
Brave your heart / Renounce your fears
Locked away inside / All these years
http://www.cieloprovvisorio.net

 dei palmari),
Sembrava fregarsene anche del video sull'iPod, eppure.
--
Andrea Zanellato aka "Il Troll Mafiosetto"
andyegiorgy(at)
libero.it
http://www.3wstyle.net
--> Spazio *infinito* nel web *GRATIS*? 
http://www.3wstyle.net/upload

 Sembrava fregarsene anche del video sull'iPod, eppure.
Eppure io da quell'uomo ho imparato a non aspettarmi nulla. E' una
continua sorpresa.
