Implications of the Treo 650 running Windows Mobile.

Michael Gartenberg | August 09, 2005, 12:28 PM

This one's been floating around longer than most other rumors but that doesn't mean it's not true. For the sake of argument (and the fact that I just got off the phone with someone I trust who claims it to be accurate) let's assume it's true and that Palm would release a Windows Mobile phone. What's the net? Well, it bodes very well for Microsoft, the same company the was often derided by Palm's Jeff Hawkins for their mediocre work in mobile technology. It's a big win for them and totally validates their position in the marketplace. It will also likely alienate the core Palm users who are diehards to the platform. That won't really matter that much, as in the end, it's the mass markets that define product success or failure not the enthusiasts like me. It would be a huge blow to Palmsource. There's probably no worse nightmare than their flagship licensee introducing a Windows based device, even if they still continue to offer Palm based devices. This event, if it actually happens, would mark a powerful turning point for Microsoft, more from a psychological perspective than a marketshare perspective, but that's the key to getting momentum going for the longer haul.