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A P1 In The Palm (6/29/99)
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Those of us who were hoping against hope for a big surprise Palm announcement at the upcoming Expo are probably going to be sorely disappointed. Ever since the Newton got the axe a while back, some of us have been waiting impatiently for the "Mac OS-based handheld" that was promised as a replacement. At this point, knowing that Apple tried to buy Palm and that the two companies are collaborating on something secret, we have to assume that whatever handheld Apple does finally ship is much more likely to be PalmOS-based instead, and at this point that's just fine with us-- we just want to see what the two companies can come up with when they put their heads together. And now that there's this rumor about a big "non-Mac" announcement at Jobs' upcoming keynote address, some kind of Palm announcement at first seemed likely.
But CNET had to go and spoil the fun by reporting that the whole project has been back-burnered; we'll forgive them, though, because the info they provide about the alleged Apple-Palm handheld is valuable, if slightly disappointing time-wise. But if they're right, then Apple and Palm are collaborating on an Apple-branded organizer, and in fact prototypes of the fruit-flavored units have been spotted around the Apple campus. (Anonymous sources claim that these aren't just regular Palm organizers with third-party replacement shells.) Sadly, the whole project is being put on "temporary hold" so that Apple could divert engineering resources to fix the various and sundry problems that cropped up in the P1. Because of this, if the Apple-branded Palm ever ships at all, it probably won't happen until sometime next year.
So, disappointed as we are that the Newton's successor is being delayed, we admit that getting the P1 out the door is by far the higher priority. The increased market share, revenue growth, and stock price boost resulting from a P1 success would all put Apple on much firmer footing to create a handheld that people would actually want to buy. Note to Apple: real handwriting recognition-- please, please, please.
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SceneLink (1635)
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And Now For A Word From Our Sponsors |
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 | | The above scene was taken from the 6/29/99 episode: June 29, 1999: P1 rumors play the yo-yo game with Apple's stock price. Meanwhile, what's the big "non-Mac" news that may prompt Steve Jobs to move his keynote address to 30 Rockefeller Plaza? It's probably not a Palm announcement, since the Apple-branded handheld has been put on the back burner until the P1 gets done...
Other scenes from that episode: 1633: Back On Track, Maybe (6/29/99) Ah, Wall Street-- the place where fortunes are determined as were victories in naval battles of old: they're won and lost due to tricks of the wind. The wind on Wall Street, though, is the hot air whispering through the rumor mill, and if you want a textbook illustration of just how strongly unsubstantiated rumors can affect a stock's performance, look no further than AAPL... 1634: Picking Up And Moving (6/29/99) Speaking of unsubstantiated rumors, our buddy John Farr over at AppleLinks forwarded us a doozy: apparently our plans to camp out for good keynote seats at the Javits Center may have to be adjusted slightly...
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