Kiss the PalmOS and the Treo Goodbye

Analysis from PC Magazine: “Palm’s Dangerous Path”

Palm unveiled their first Windows Mobile Treo today…

As a palm user since around 1996, and a Treo 600 user from the minute they came out (I had seen one early, for about 2 seconds, in the hands of uber-designer Peter Skillman and HAD to have it) I am greatly saddened.

The reason the device was successful, in my opinion, was the simplicity of the PalmOS. It does a few simple things and it simply does them well. Originally the Address Book and Calendar. The addition of the phone was both a no-brainer and a home run. Lots of other companies tried, but they could not match the good, clean design of the Treo or the simplicity of the Operating System. Remember that bulky blob of a thing Qualcomm could never get off the ground? The pdQ. Blech. The Kyocera pdQ2. Ewww.

…the weight of Windows may come as a shock to existing Treo users.

Another step backward is the reduction of screen resolution from 320 x 320 to 240 x 240 because, you guessed it, Win Mobile can’t support the higher resolution.

I can’t imagine putting up with that garbage and overhead. Who needs it?

Count me out.

Arrrg!