Pony99CA
06-03-2004, 05:28 AM
Sony is taking a break from the PDA market in the U.S. according to Bargain PDA (http://www.bargainpda.com/default.asp?newsID=2082). They won't release any new models in the U.S. this year, although they may in Japan.
Sony has called this a "regrouping", not an exit from the U.S., and Sony PDAs will still be available for a while as existing stock gets sold. However, this will leave PalmOne as the only major Palm OS hardware vendor, at least for a while.
There was a lot of speculation at the source link (http://www.bargainpda.com/default.asp?newsID=2082) as to the impact this would have -- would Sony's loss be Microsoft's gain, will PalmOne reintegrate PalmSource, etc.?
I don't see the latter happening -- PalmSource was split from Palm to ensure PalmSource would support other vendors equally. Despite the possible loss of Sony, PalmSource still has other clients (Samsung, Garmin, Tapwave, etc.) that might be worried if PalmOne and PalmSource were to merge again.
Will this help Pocket PCs finally pass Palm's marketshare, or will the market be hurt because one of the more innovative PDA makers is taking a break? Share your thoughts in the discussion.
Sony has called this a "regrouping", not an exit from the U.S., and Sony PDAs will still be available for a while as existing stock gets sold. However, this will leave PalmOne as the only major Palm OS hardware vendor, at least for a while.
There was a lot of speculation at the source link (http://www.bargainpda.com/default.asp?newsID=2082) as to the impact this would have -- would Sony's loss be Microsoft's gain, will PalmOne reintegrate PalmSource, etc.?
I don't see the latter happening -- PalmSource was split from Palm to ensure PalmSource would support other vendors equally. Despite the possible loss of Sony, PalmSource still has other clients (Samsung, Garmin, Tapwave, etc.) that might be worried if PalmOne and PalmSource were to merge again.
Will this help Pocket PCs finally pass Palm's marketshare, or will the market be hurt because one of the more innovative PDA makers is taking a break? Share your thoughts in the discussion.