4 November 2000 |
Attendance
Saturday
Alan Adams Joseph Gavin Ron Apperley Joseph Klamer Leon Blevis Ron Kolthoff Rob Bowen Steve Mandula Sue Calloway Bruce McKay Alvin Chin Sam Peralta Stephen Cook David Oag Kenny Delaney Russell Scheer Dave Dickson David Spencer New member Mike Duden Ben Sutton New member Sean D. Evans Peter Thomas Matt Fozard Karen Thompson
Topic - Presentation by Matthew Hickey of Palm Canada Inc.
Matthew Hickey, the Director, Partner & Enterprise Sales for Palm Canada Inc. was our guest speaker and presenter. With this type of presentation we could not meet at the local Pizza Hut, so the meeting was held at GlaxoWellcome Inc. in Mississauga. Thanks to Art Liem who works at GlaxoWellcome Inc. for offering the premises and to David Oag who took care of our needs while we were using the facilities.
There was no formal topic for this meeting other than the presentation. The first half-hour to three-quarters of an hour was a meet and greet session with Matthew and those who have not seen each other in a while.
Once people were settled Matthew began his presentation taking questions along the way.
Matthew began his presentation by telling us that he hosts a weekly radio show dedicated to the mobile world. The program, titled "Understanding the Mobile World" airs on Sundays from 6:00pm to 7:00pm on Talk 640AM. This is a interactive radio program so you can call in with questions for Matthew to answer.
Matthew has been with the company since November of 1995, which is just about the beginning. In March of 1996 the Palm handheld device was launched. The company started as US Robotics, which was bought by 3Com and recently spun off into Palm Inc.
With over 9 million units worldwide, 700,000 in Canada, Palm Inc. is growing fast. In Canada we currently have 17 people. We expect to grow to 25 by the New Year and to over 100 by next year.
| Q | Will Palm Inc. be negatively effected if more companies build Palm OS devices? |
| A | No, the companies that build the devices would still have to license the Palm operating system and Palm Inc. would not have to invest in the development and manufacturing of the device it self. Palm Inc. is happy when a third party manufacturer develops a device as it increases the Palm OS exposure while keeping a diverse range of devices that will attract consumers. |
| Q | Will Palm Inc. switch to better hardware as it becomes available? |
| A | Any company would like to keep up with the latest hardware improvements, but there are the issues of stability, price and compatibility for the customers to consider. Switching to the newest technology adds costs to the devices as well as forcing consumers to re-purchase peripherals due to non-compatible parts. Palm Inc. hires the best people they can and work hard at being aware of what our competitors. |
| Q | Now that liquid palmer screens are out will Palm Inc. be switching to them? |
| A | This is similar to the previous question. In addition to my previous response I will add that we don't like to be the first to use new technology. We like to keep the per unit cost under $500.00 USD and if we use every piece of new technology that comes out the costs of putting them into the product line would raise the price far above that price per unit limit. Once technology has been available for a while it becomes more stable and the costs will come down. It is at this time that we check the feasibility of using the technology. |
| Q | Does the Pocket PC and other handheld devices pose a threat to Palm Inc.? |
| A | We are always aware of our competitors position in the marketplace. Currently the Pocket PC has 7-8% of the marketplace, but we always have to be alert because of who they are. The best way we have for staying ahead of competition is to listen to our customers concerns. |
| Q | You said that you listen to customer needs. Can you give an example of this? |
| A | Customer surveys and suggestions have always indicated that the screens have been a concern, particularly the cost of replacing them. We have done a lot of research and development on this issue and have begun to use a Plexiglas screen. A special coating was also developed to give the same feel as a glass screen. The M100 is the first device to be shipped with this new screen and the rest of the product line will start to be shipped with them in due course. |
| Q | How do you encourage Palm owners to buy new devices? |
| A | We make them upgradeable, which allows for the owner to get a new device and hand down the current device to someone, such as a child or friend. We continuously refine the device for flexibility and most importantly, we listen to our customers. |
| Q | What about Palm OS 3.5? When will it be available as an upgrade and will it cost anything? |
| A | OS 3.5 is a considered a cosmetic upgrade and as such can not be offered as a free upgrade under the current tax laws. The tax laws state that a certain dollar value must be paid for each non technical upgrade that is downloaded. What we have done is bundle OS 3.5 with the Palm Mobile Internet kit. |
| Q | Why have Palm units been so difficult to get? |
| A | Market demand for the parts. At this time only the Palm Vx is under allocation. This means that it take roughly 20 days to get one. Corporate clients make their orders and what ever is surplus after they are filled is released to the retail outlets. |
| Q | What is being done by parts suppliers to ease the demand? |
| A | The suppliers we deal with are looking at ways of increasing the manufacturing capabilities while keeping the costs down. |
| Q | Are there any plans for a colour Palm V? |
| A | When the cost of materials comes down enough to meet the $500.00 per device price we may do it. |
| Q | Does Palm approach companies for partnering or do companies approach Palm? |
| A | Both. We look at what is best for Palm and its customers. An example would be the IBM partnership. They liked the device and wanted to use it, but did not want the manufacturing costs. Among the details of the partnership was that they would provide service for Palm devices in 41 countries. |
| Q | Why aren't the connector standard across the Palm units? |
| A | This is something that we are working on. The Palm V was made different so customers would not plug the unit into non-rechargeable cradle, as it would do damage to the device. The M100 is a not a corporate device and not designed for 3rd party peripherals in mind. |
| Q | Does Palm plan to reduce the number of models available? |
| A | Perhaps if the market indicators show that a reduction in the number available units is warranted, but there are no immediate plans to do so. |
| Q | Does Palm feel that colour as important enough to have other models manufactured in colour? |
| A | Yes. Customer feedback has and continues to tell us that customers like colour. |
| Q | Will there be audio capabilities? |
| A | Now that expansion cards are available for Palm OS devices the move towards audio and other high storage applications can begin. Handspring, TRG and Sony all have expansion capabilities. The Springboard, which is based on PCMCA technology, is proprietary. The TRG uses compact flash, but its use depletes battery power very quickly. The Sony Memory Stick, which is only memory, is also proprietary. Palm is looking to utilize the SDMC (Secure Digital Memory Card) technology. It is extremely small, postage stamp size, and comes in various memory increments of 64, 128 and 256 Mb. Palm is looking into the use of expansion attachments that would allow existing devices to use SDMC. SDMC will allow the devices to become smaller, but have as much if not more capabilities. The applications for this technology is vast. An example of some of the things you should be able to get are: BlueTooth (although this will likely be built into the motherboard within 1 to 2 years), Voice recorder, Audio players, Healthcare, GPS, FM/TV, Cell phone, Games, Digital cameras, and much more. Palm Source will have a CD-ROM that contains SDMC developer information. We are looking to have SDMC out for Q2 of 2001 (Spring/Summer). |
| Q | Will Palm go to a newer CPU, such as the StrongArm? |
| A | Palm is aware of the need for increased CPU performance and are looking into the available technologies. Our focus on stability we would not want to change CPUs to frequently. We also must make sure that the battery usage and cost remain within our business model. |
Prizes
Everyone attending the presentation received a Palm ballpoint pen and a Palm IIIc flat magnet. There was also a table full of goodies to be had.
Matthew chose the first group of people to go up to the table based on whom initiated the most interactive participation. These were Alvin Chin, Sue Calloway, Ron Kolthoff and Karen Thompson. Sean then invited everyone up to the table to pick their own prize.