And maybe CPQ will see the light and offer an Aero with the PALM OS..
comdex LAS VEGAS--Three years after its debut, evidence is mounting that
Microsoft's efforts to spread the use of its Windows CE operating system to gadgets
are not faring well.
The latest clues can be seen here at the Comdex trade show from the likes of Compaq
Computer, Sony and Everex, another hardware maker that will stop making devices based
on Windows CE, Microsoft's scaled-down OS. (See related story.)
To boot, Sony yesterday said it was licensing the Palm operating system from 3Com's
Palm Computing for use in next-generation handheld devices.
"Microsoft is certainly down right now, about as far as they can go. But
that can change," said Ken Dulaney, vice president of mobile
computing research at Gartner Group. Microsoft has a good chance to
make an impact with CE in other markets, he said.
Once considered a niche market, handheld devices have gained credibility and attention
because of their growing popularity and an industrywide interest in accessing the Internet
in new ways. Handhelds are considered by many to be the future of computing. The
various devices from Palm Computer garner about 75 percent of that market, despite
Microsoft's efforts to push CE.
Compaq, meanwhile, is straddling the fence on Windows CE. Microsoft's chief executive
Bill Gates took the occasion of his Sunday night keynote to show off the latest addition to
the Windows CE family--the MSN Web Companion designed to offer easy access to
Microsoft's MSN Internet service.
But in 1996, Gates proudly pointed to the CE software powering new handheld computers.
On Sunday night, he didn't mention Windows CE at all during the MSN Web Companion
announcement. Nor did he mention that Compaq helped to design the device.
A possible reason for the omission: Compaq's version of
the machine may not have a Microsoft operating system at
all when it reaches the market.
Microsoft denied that Compaq was omitted: "Compaq has
chosen to make a specific product announcement at a later
date," a spokeswoman said. "For that reason, they chose
not to be in our press materials."
Compaq co-developed the Web Companion, but it is
"evaluating other operating systems," said Marc
Warshawsky, director of Internet Appliances for Compaq.
Compaq's plan is to make the device for telephone
companies and Internet service providers but then let the
other companies sell them.
Regarding Everex, Microsoft denied that any problems with
the company's software led to the decision. In any type of
market with multiple manufacturers, some will eventually
drop out, said Brian Shafer, product manager for Windows
CE.
"If you talked to Packard Bell, they'd say the PC is a failure," Shafer said, referring to the
company's recent announcement that it is exiting the PC market because of poor sales.
Shafer further noted that Philips may have dropped the Nino, but it will be one of the
manufacturers of the MSN Web Companion, which will run Windows CE. "You have to
take it in context," he said. "More manufacturers bring more innovation to the market
faster--people will come and go."
Compaq and others continue to sell palm-size PCs running Windows CE, and Microsoft
has many other avenues for pushing the OS, including a $5 billion set-top pact with AT&T.
But Compaq's possible lack of support for Microsoft's entry into a new market is perhaps
another sign that the company's efforts to extend the Windows brand "everywhere," as the
saying goes, are running into roadblocks.
Web Companion may also have trouble at another Microsoft stalwart: Dell Computer. Chief
executive Michael Dell was waxing eloquent about his company's future at a Comdex event
today, but he didn't sound enthused about the prospects of the Web Companion.
"We're certainly not going to sell every [device] that comes around, and that may not be
one that makes the list," said Dell.
Microsoft's strongest showing is in industrial, rather than personal, handhelds, according to
Dulaney. "It's not something that they're proud of, but they are doing very well."
The problem is that there will only be an upside of around 300,000 units sold annually
when that market matures in a couple of years, he said.
The recent defections of Everex and Philips from the palm-size PC market, along with
Palm's growing momentum has led some to question anew Microsoft's chances for
success with CE in the handheld market. Dulaney, for one, thinks their chance to become
dominant in handhelds looks to have already passed as Palm and Symbian have gained
credibility.
Part of the problem is of perception, to be sure. As it prepares to release an update
to Windows CE, Microsoft marketing has shifted into low gear, so as not to take
away sales from existing products. At the same time, Palm has kicked it up a
notch, announcing a series of strategic alliances with giants such Nokia and Sony,
licensing the Palm operating system to high-profile start-up Handspring and
releasing new devices on an accelerated schedule. |
