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Why Sony and Ericsson fight in the boardroom |
invaders
Joined: Jul 22, 2002
Posts: 63
PM |
A senior SE official told me that the real fight between Sony and Ericsson in the boardroom is over multiple operating system support. Sony is working on an advanced smartphone based on Palm OS 5, with a 320x480 screen, in a small clamshell form factor. It's a very sexy device, much like the newly announced Clie NX70V and prototypes have been shown to Japanese management. Sony wants to bet on more then one horse (not just Symbian, that is). It's the same strategy that Samsung is taking (they'll be releasing phones with four different OS's: Palm, Smartphone, MS Phone Edition and proprietary). But Ericsson, as one of the founders of the Symbian consortium wants to stick to that and nothing else. Also there is disagreement between Symbian-members about the fragmentation of different UI-versions (series 6 vs series 7) across Symbian phones. This and the lack of profitability of the Japano-Swedish merger is causing some trouble in the boardroom. Let's hope I'll have the P800 in my hands before they break up. | |
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hymie
Joined: Jan 11, 2002
Posts: 249
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Interesting topic!
I fully support E///'s line of only supporting the Symbian OS.
I see lots of difficulties in maintaining a proper SW- and overall support for released products when each of them is based on a different platform.
Symbian 7.0+ is clearly superior to any Palm OS Version, so I'd favor it if Sony Ericsson sticks to Symbian alone. This would also mean future SW packs would be compatible among different possible SE Smartphones..
cheers,
hymie |
jb
Joined: May 21, 2002
Posts: 303
PM |
I'd like to know more about the advantages of each of those two.
What advantages would PalmOS bring?
The problem is that PocketPC is really advancing and by abandoning Symbian and supporting PalmOS you're sort of shooting yourself in the foot AND jumping onto a sinking ship.
On the other hand; who knows. I've gotten the impression that Palm is moving into the software-licensing market and gradually leaving the device-manufacturing. That means they are in direct competition with Microsoft and PocketPC - which is bad.
I don't know about this new platform but I know Palm's UI:s generally suck.
If PocketPC grabs the market SEMC is left with an obsolete PalmOS-based device.
The downside with multiple platforms is increased costs and confused customers.
In spite of that I think it's wise to support multiple platforms, initially. Drop the one that is least profitable and concentrate on the more successfull one. I would bet on Symbian. |
who_the
Joined: Sep 24, 2002
Posts: 6
PM, WWW
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If Symbian 7 doesn't catch on, then SE had better have an alternative. If Palm users stay loyal, and if Pocket PC usage continues to grow, there may not be room for Symbian, especially with a total installed base of one, very expensive phone.
Having said that, I'm unimpressed with the software currently available for major tasks on either Palm or Pocket PC operating systems right now. Try browsing the Web, or listening to a Shoutcast-style MP3 stream on either platform; you'll generally be disappointed.
That means if Symbian 7 delivers a strong enough set of core apps, and if developers support it quickly, the OS could have an opportunity to take hold. That's a lot of 'ifs' and 'coulds,' though.
Even though Palm is a weaker platform than Pocket PC right now, they're about to make a huge jump in processor speed in tandem with a pretty major revision of their OS. So Palm OS have more life than we think, especially if developers catch on. And since Sony has a successful track record of building outstanding Palm devices, and no experience with Pocket PCs, maybe Palm is a good fit after all. (Although I doubt Ericsson will see it that way.)
Seems to me that the T68i and other more 'ordinary' phones are more important to the partnership's ongoing success than the P800. They're competitively priced, can be sold in much higher volume, and offer features like Bluetooth which, especially in the U.S., are hard to find on any other phones. | |
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Posted: 2002-09-30 22:20
