Another Useless Mall Store

While Gateway is closing all of its stores, it seems PalmOne is trying to make a go from retail space:

The stores will display PalmOne's entire line of handhelds, sold by employees who can pinpoint key features, beyond the distraction of shoppers looking for big screen TVs, and away from rival handhelds made by the likes of Sony, Toshiba Corp.(6502.T) and Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ - news).

Focusing on personal digital assistants, or PDAs, is critical for PalmOne, which last year split from software maker PalmSource, even as it combined with Handspring, maker of the popular Treo combination digital organizer and mobile phone.

I have a PDA--a Zaurus to be exact. I used to have a Palm and before that I had a Palm Pilot Professional. I even try to get people to use them who are disorganized and cranky. I love my PDA and I'll never be without one, but as I try to convert people, I've realized that you are either oriented to use a PDA or not. People use them for a while and go back to their old, chaotic ways. PDAs are more trouble than they're worth for many people (i.e. What do you mean sync?).

I gave my wife a Palm for Christmas and she likes it, but I've noticed she only uses it for looking up phone numbers. She doesn't use its calendar nor does she use it for anything else. All of the phone numbers she really needs are already stored in her cell phone. She thinks syncing is too much like work.

Another friend of mine could certainly benefit from using his Palm regularly. He has many clients and should really be living by a calendar. There are times when he's so overwhelmed he'll swear he's going to organize better, but he backslides and then he's just trying stay afloat by memory. I don't even try anymore.

The point is that I think, in the long run, PDAs will be seen as an interesting experiment. PalmOne cannot force PDAs down the public's throat. In fact, they will do well to be around this time next year. The original Palm Pilot surprised everybody (including U.S. Robotics) when it became a hit. To this day, PalmOne is still producing pretty much the same device. There are some people who just don't want or need a PDA in their lives. In fact, you will find that another device will come along that is better designed and more user-friendly.

Here is my advice to PalmOne: Instead of blowing your capital on retail stores that will eventually fail, try putting that money into R&D and develop the next big thing.

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