Word: handheld
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PALM makes handheld computers and communications devices. Though Palm is named after a hand rather than a tree, Placek still likes the arboreal association: "A dramatic tree, resilient, capable of withstanding extreme temperatures, wind, lack of water--all good qualities for an emerging company...
These are not numbers that warm the CEOs hearts--their stock prices at all-time lows, minuscule earnings and only a smidgen of the population as customers. So why are executives at handheld-computer makers Palm and Handspring smiling? Because even though profits stink and "high tech" is practically a disease on Wall Street, sales are booming at both companies. Someday, they hope, their profits will...
...sales wither and dotcoms disappear, handheld-computer makers are enjoying a rather solitary spring fling. Just look at the flurry of new-product announcements in the past few weeks. From Handspring's razor-thin Visor Edge to a new memory-packed Compaq iPaq, a major upgrade has been trumpeted by nearly every PDA maker. Here's why: last year nearly 10 million PDAs were sold worldwide, almost double the number for 1999, according to research firm Gartner Dataquest. By 2004, the firm anticipates that everyone from executives to hairdressers will buy some 33 million PDAs, generating nearly $8 billion...
While spectacular growth for the handheld market seems certain, no one is quite sure who will be the biggest winner. A year ago, the obvious answer was Palm, which has sold more than 11 million PDAs to date and now claims some 60% of the retail market, according to tracking firm NPD Intelect. But Palm is paying for its decision, made a few years back, to license its operating system to other hardware makers. The idea was to achieve a critical mass of PDAs that would make the entire market viable and attract ever more software developers to create applications...
...software giant got everything wrong so far? Its Windows CE operating system, which has been around since the mid-1990s and powers Pocket PCs, claims just 10% of the handheld market. "Our initial attempts with these devices weren't that great," concedes Ed Suwanjindar, product manager for Microsoft's mobile division. Unlike the Palms, which won devotees for their elegant simplicity, Pocket PCs have been criticized for trying to cram in too many features. Such luxuries as a built-in MP3 player and high-resolution color screens have resulted in heavier, pricier offerings that start...