Palm Dumps Windows Mobile Treos: Microsoft Should Build Their Own Windows Mobile Phone to Succeed

If you went back in time to the early part of this decade one of the tech-geek discussions you might hear would be how Palm OS PDAs were so much faster and easier to use than Windows CE/Windows Mobile PDAs. It looked like Palm’s single task approach was going to get the better of the sometimes sluggish but multi-tasking Windows CE/Windows Mobile PDAs. Palm’s Treo smartphone with its BlackBerry-like thumb keyboard also seemed to be besting Windows Mobile’s touch-screen phones. But as Palm OS stagnated and Windows Mobile continued to improve, things started to even out. I recall a friend telling me that he though Palm should use Windows Mobile on the Treo to get the best of both worlds (Windows Mobile multi-tasking and the Treo’s great form factor). I recall saying something like, “I have a bridge you might like to buy too”, because it seemed to improbable that Palm would adopt its arch enemy’s platform. But, Palm did. And, that odd partnership has continued since 2006. In the meantime, Windows Mobile stagnated since then in much the same way Palm OS did. Palm moved on and developed their webOS based Pre released just a few months ago. So, it is no surprise to learn that…

Palm Abandons Windows Mobile (preCentral.net)

Motorola dumped Windows Mobile for Android. HTC still produces Windows Mobile phones but seems to be marketing their Android based one’s harder. Microsoft has the resources to keep Windows Mobile going indefintely. But, they may need to build their own phone to push their mobile agenda.

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