Bank of America/Merrill Lynch analyst Vivek Arya downgraded Palm from buy to underperform and basically ripped palm in a research note:
“Palm’s superior platform features have not translated into sufficient carrier support and consumer demand, and we are concerned the window of opportunity may be closing as Google’s Android ecosystem gains ground, [Research In Motion] revitalizes its portfolio, iPhone increases its presence, and as Microsoft reboots its efforts with Windows Phone 7. With only $130 million of net cash in an opex intensive space, Palm’s options may be limited in our view.”
Palm is facing a huge uphill battle and they seem to be stuck in the mud. We've said this a gazillion times here at pdaBlast - while other phone manufacturers are opting for larger screens, Palm is going smaller. WebOS is the most promising OS in our view, but on the Pre's little bitty 3.1" display it just doesn't cut it. Other phones have 3.5" and even 3.7" displays. Palm's response would likely be that the Pre has the same aspect ratio as the iPhone, 320x480. We say great, but it's still TOO SMALL!
Some people might like a smaller phone like the Pre or Pixi, but for Palm to stay alive they should also release a larger device for people who want a high performance phone.
In addition to size Palm should focus on speed. Sadly, the Pre and Pixi both seem sluggish. After using a Motorola Droid or iPhone, moving to a webOS device would be painful.
We love webOS and we're rooting for Palm but I hope they make some dramatic changes immediately. Otherwise, all the talk of webOS being around for a decade will be history. Google is coming on strong and iPhones are selling like crazy. Palm has very little time to step it up.
“Palm’s superior platform features have not translated into sufficient carrier support and consumer demand, and we are concerned the window of opportunity may be closing as Google’s Android ecosystem gains ground, [Research In Motion] revitalizes its portfolio, iPhone increases its presence, and as Microsoft reboots its efforts with Windows Phone 7. With only $130 million of net cash in an opex intensive space, Palm’s options may be limited in our view.”
Palm is facing a huge uphill battle and they seem to be stuck in the mud. We've said this a gazillion times here at pdaBlast - while other phone manufacturers are opting for larger screens, Palm is going smaller. WebOS is the most promising OS in our view, but on the Pre's little bitty 3.1" display it just doesn't cut it. Other phones have 3.5" and even 3.7" displays. Palm's response would likely be that the Pre has the same aspect ratio as the iPhone, 320x480. We say great, but it's still TOO SMALL!
Some people might like a smaller phone like the Pre or Pixi, but for Palm to stay alive they should also release a larger device for people who want a high performance phone.
In addition to size Palm should focus on speed. Sadly, the Pre and Pixi both seem sluggish. After using a Motorola Droid or iPhone, moving to a webOS device would be painful.
We love webOS and we're rooting for Palm but I hope they make some dramatic changes immediately. Otherwise, all the talk of webOS being around for a decade will be history. Google is coming on strong and iPhones are selling like crazy. Palm has very little time to step it up.
