What happens when you build a tremendous new device, design and execute your own operating system that incorporates some innovative capabilities and receive rave reviews from developers and users but don't roll out a fully stocked app store with the launch of the device?
Palm Inc. is finding that out right now.
Once known for leading the universe in cutting-edge handheld gadgets, on Thursday Palm launches the Palm Pre in Canada two months after its U.S. debut and analysts are already saying the Pre's success or failure will determine to a large extent the life or death of the company.
With its touchscreen control, slide-out QWERTY keyboard and custom OS that excels in multitasking and personal information management, the Pre has garnered positive reviews since its exuberant unveiling at this year's annual International Consumer Electronic Show. It launched in the U.S. to equally rave reviews by respected tech blogs Engadget and Gizmodo and review sites such as CNET.
(The Palm Pre features are covered in several Globe on Technology blog posts over the past two weeks that include highlights, lowlights and expanding on some of the features.)
Yet there's one major criticism of the device that is proving to be somewhat of an Albatross around the Pre's neck and that's the dearth of downloadable apps – small programs that expand and customize a user's phone in innumerable ways. Analysts have identified applications as a game-changer when it comes to choosing a smart phone and some say Palm's slim pickings may prove unappealing to consumers.
“[Lack of apps] is going to be a huge Achilles heal for Palm,” said Carmi Levy senior vice-president, strategic consulting with AR Communications. “What it's done is compromised the company's ability to capitalize on the bump that you usually get when you launch a new device. So there's huge amount of publicity surrounding the launch and then a couple months later things settle down because you're not getting headlines like you used to get. It's during that critical phase that application availability drives attention.”
Unlike Apple, which launched the App Store along with the iPhone 2.0, Palm did not send out invitations to a select group of beta developers until more than a month after the Pre launched in the U.S. on June 6. And the company doesn't plan an open developer release until September.
While currently still in beta, Palm's App Catalogue has a little more than two dozen available applications to download compared to Apple's more than 65,000.
The volume of applications in Apple's store makes Palm's offerings look, well, inconsequential.
While currently still in beta, Palm's App Catalogue has a little more than two dozen available applications to download compared to Apple's more than 65,000.
But according to Palm, rolling out the device first and then slowly easing in the developer community was the company's plan all along. What they hope is the strategy will help iron out any major programming issues before a full public launch.
“As you can see, we're taking a very deliberate, methodical, thoughtful approach to [expanding the App Catalogue] and working with the developer community,” Katie Mitic, Palms senior vice-president, product marketing said in a phone interview Wednesday.
“It was important for us to scale this program ... to ensure we're doing it right. WebOS is a completely new platform that was shipped for the very first time. We wanted to get our phone and that platform out to end users as soon as possible.”
