Apparently Microsoft has the wrong model for the PDA market and is doomed to failure, or at least so says Palmsource CEO Dave Nagel (well, he would wouldn't he).
Interestingly this comes but a day after Microsoft announce plans to enter the low end of the market.
It is not the case that the Palm platform is dead, doomed, about to be eclipsed by Redmond, says Nagel, unleashing another battery of heavy-duty Gartner - au contraire, it's in fine fettle, and Microsoft is maiming itself by trying to apply the wrong industry model to the handheld device business.
The wrong industry model in question is of course the PC one. In Nagel's view the only surviving name in the PC business that makes a profit is Dell, and this has been caused by Microsoft's commoditisation of the market. Similarly, Microsoft is now applying fairly rigid platform standards to the PDA and phone business (and in the latter case is even specifically attempting to unleash a wave of no-name cloners).
Manufacturers going the Microsoft way therefore have little scope for differentiation, are forced to compete on price, and will get killed.
To be fair its a very good article, albeit slanted heavily towards Nagel's way of thinking. Clicky clicky to read more.
View: Why Palm will succeed, and Microsoft will fail - Palmsource CEO
News source: The Reg
