A link in the wireless data/handheld value chain?
dailynews.yahoo.com
And speaking of horse(races):
The contenders for the OS for handheld devices are Epoc, Palm, PocketPC, and Linux.
One of these will most likely come out the winner from the tornado to be another Microsoft.
Pros and cons for each:
The device manufacturers have invested lots of time and money into Symbian's Epoc, a very mature OS. Not many apps, though.
Palm has the installed user base, applications already written (and very easy to write more), and support from manufacturers like Sony.
PocketPC is the desktop gorilla's foray into the handheld market. MS has the resources to try to bludgeon their way in. Unfortunately, they're bludgeoning their way in, and trying to shrink a desktop rather than re-architecting the OS. Easy to port Windows apps, but those are also desktop oriented.
Linux I think is the underdog, and not likely to win here. But if Transmeta does well, then Linux has a shot. Another OS shrunk rather than architected from ground up to be small.
I think the order from most likely to least would be Palm, Epoc, PocketPC, Linux, with Palm and Epoc neck and neck.
Now I have two questions:
1. The wireless data tornado has not formed yet. Does the above press release suggest that it will happen around 2002?
2. If Palm were a PDA gorilla, would it make sense (in terms of this thread's investment goals) to buy the basket in this case? (Since MS and Palm would already be gorillas, adding Symbian to the bunch should be rather low risk?) Or am I falling prey to the shiny pebble sirens?
Tom CF
P.S. Disclaimer: I write software for handheld devices, primarily Epoc and the OS formerly known as WinCE. |
