Tech Watch | InfoWorld Staff » Microsoft and Palm join forces on the Treo to shake up consumer electronics industry

September 26, 2005 | Comments: (0)

Microsoft and Palm join forces on the Treo to shake up consumer electronics industry

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Palm's deal with Microsoft which will incorporate Windows Mobile 5.0 in a version of the Treo smartphone is a significant announcement for a number of reasons.

In the mobile world, one of the major complaints I always heard as I covered Microsoft and the many handset and handheld manufacturers is that you either did it the Microsoft way or you took a hike.

In other words if you want their OS on a cell phone or handheld you had to fulfill certain form factor and internal hardware requirements: a scroll wheel, a screen size of certain dimensions, unique audio and display requirements, browser specific, and a certain memory and processor configuration.

The deal with Palm changes all of that. For the first time that I can remember, Microsoft is compromising.

Palm will be offering a Treo handset or smartphone, that uses the Microsoft Mobile 5.0 but this time the OS will conform with the Palm design and hardware configuration not the other way around.

Has Microsoft learned a lesson here? I think so. Their Achilles heal up until know has been in the mobile space. They don't have near the market share enjoyed by Palm. By getting their OS placed on the single most popular converged handheld and handset they are suddenly a major player.

Of course, Palm gets to extend its marketshare by being able to offer either a Palm OS or Windows-based version of the Treo.

What does this mean to the consumer electronics [CE] industry?

The answer is, watch out. Microsoft is finally getting it. And if they begin to understand consumer electronics like they understand high tech, the likes of Sony, Sharp, Toshiba and Panasonic better watch their back.

As Rex Crum of MarketWatch points out:
"Palm and Microsoft competed directly for years in the handheld market."

However, I belive the winds of change are in the air. The combination of Apple, the iPod and Cingular, and now Microsoft and Palm Treo may indicate a whole new era as high tech begins, through partnerships something it has always done better than CE companies, to take on the traditional CE players.

Posted by Ephraim. Schwartz on September 26, 2005 02:23 PM

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