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We are accustomed to the fact that most technical innovations comes to us very late. The phrase "began selling in Japan and the U.S." most often means that the device in question, if and will appear in Russia, the best month in three or four. And then do not reach Moscow. Recently, however, the situation began to change for the better. Nokia shows new items on the same days as the world, ViewSonic brings the most "fresh" tablets and wireless monitors. Today appreciated the Russian market, and Palm, Inc. - New models show in Moscow two weeks after the world premiere. A shipment of large quantities of new PDAs in Russia began a week ago. So, on Tuesday in Moscow hosted a presentation of new models of the global market leader CCP, the company Palm, Inc. In many respects, noisy premieres around the world and the need to position delivers the Palm was able to maintain this leadership. Presentation, due to the lack of representation in Russia, Palm, organized a group of companies "White Wind".
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| Palm is of interest |
Most probably, great news - not the appearance of new devices as such, and the birth of a new concept of the world's largest provider of handheld computers. First Palm homogeneous products will be clearly divided into two categories: cheap, "youth" products and devices business-class, top-model for wealthy business people. Zire and Tungsten - not just refer to specific machines, and the names of series devices - Zire cheap, Tungsten - expensive. Diversification of products should also help Palm, Inc. strengthen the shaky position in the market and attract new customers. Moreover, according to the company, these buyers will be set.
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| Zire |
Zire has become a truly mass product, and on an unprecedented scale to this. Its like a calculator and "Tamagotchi" will be sold in supermarkets and shopping centers almost as a souvenir, trinket, in a transparent plastic bag, to housewives, going for groceries, were able to buy a typewriter nephew as a Christmas gift. Fortunately, the European and American standards Zire is worth mere pennies - $ 99 U.S.. Zire will not even advertise in a special way. There will be serious and solid rollers and posters for mobile professionals, the target audience Zire - teenagers, students and other young people, women, and generally people away from the computer. Obviously, the Zire line will bring the company's money was due to quantitative sales. Whatever the cost of the device, it is obvious that at a price of $ 100 (in Russia approximately $ 120-130) the sale of each machine to bring big profits will not. Well, never mind. Palm will take a number. Tungsten T - is another matter. This is an objective way PDA, designed for those who prefer high-end. It contains technical innovations that have and will become the main "article" appeal - a new operating system, the new multimedia capabilities, the new processor, new navigation system, the new wireless features, the new screen quality, the new software. No one can stand against such a flow of novelty! For which, naturally, has to pay. Machine will cost five to six times more unpretentious Zire. So, first on the hands in the audience went to Palm Zire - in my opinion, the world's first PDA in a milky-white body. While Zire passes from hand to hand, it seems that you now give the most naidesheveyshuyu Chinese "soap-box" (actually, a model car in this country).However, the tactile sensation is much more favorably. Plastic pretty tight and pleasant to the touch, although the rear wall in my fingers still creaked. China ... Otherwise, the typical Palm Operating System 4.1 - the usual applications, familiar interface. Is that the front-panel buttons smaller (left button to display the diary and address book). Even infrared is preserved (a stone in the garden Casio BE-300)! Rather svetlenky 160x160 monochrome screen is closed lid of a dense rubber. To avoid scratches. More after the two-minute dialogue is hard to tell, but overall a pleasant experience. Very much nice polished white body - would look great in a blister pack and attract customers. Palm will even be giving away specialty retailer stands at 60 machines each, where the Zire will hang like bags of frozen vegetables. All for a beginner! This package will help the potential buyer feel how light and compact machine. Zire weighs 109 grams and pulls his shirt pocket any more than any of today's cell phones.
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| Zire and Mitac Mio |
Another innovation - a battery instead of batteries in entry-level models. Perhaps, given how many "live" without charging black and white Palm'y it's great. The only thing that directly causes depression, so it is 2 Mbytes of RAM. In fact, at least 6 extra MB for each PDA is not worth to Palm, given the volume of purchases, almost nothing. A user would mean a lot. With the 2 MB read no books, no items can deliver ... Sorry. On the other hand, a gift for New Year! Sales, however, the novelty should appear considerably earlier. According to Simone Hosack (Simona Hosek), manager of Palm's sales in Eastern Europe, Zire for a week like go to Russia and on the counters appear in the next few days. However, she admits that Zire - not quite a Russian product. We have the PDA market is not yet sufficiently massive, that grandma bought a handheld computer for his granddaughter at the grocery store. Therefore, the Palm does not place much hope on the Zire sales in Russia (and, respectively, in "The Seventh Continent," we hardly see these PDAs). But another model, Tungsten T, perfectly suited for our market, where everyone loves an expensive and beautiful.
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| Tungsten |
When you take the first Tungsten T in hand, I want to immediately turn it into a beautiful paper and give the woman one loves. Sleek, tiny, but at the same time solid and some "reliable" box very comfortably in the hand, gently illuminating the neighborhood light display. However, soon it turns out that the "soft" - this is temporary. If you include backlit "full", Tungsten T completely replace the heart in his hand Danko. Such illumination I have not seen on any Pocket PC. Although ... Subjective feeling, but I display HP iPaq 3900 still like more. Perhaps another reason that the maximum level of illumination Tungsten T amiss, and to find a black cat in a dark room, even in its absence there - so clearly not necessary, but eats batteries. But it looks just great. Cool metal casing with a clear course of the bottom panel is almost puppy dog enthusiasm. Want to sit and open-closed area of graffiti. Silk-click! Metal gives confidence and solidity, but this adds to weight. Tiny PDA, probably a third less than the average Pocket PC, very weighty - 157 grams. However, if you do not know that before you Palm, at first it seems that in the hands of the Pocket PC. It's funny, but Palm as one of the main advantages of the new Tungsten T five-way joystick puts that on Pocket PC (even if Windows CE 2.11), appeared just in prehistoric times. Thus, in the hands of the machine with a bright color screen with a joystick to play it a video ...Pocket PC, the real! Indeed, the new Tungsten T is very effectively leverages the new processor Texas Instruments OMAP 1510 (140 MHz) and a new operating system - Palm OS 5. Still, the main thing that distinguishes the Tungsten from its predecessors - is no joystick, no Bluetooth, and multimedia. Video plays as the best examples of XScale Pocket PC - Trailer film "XXX" just "flew", posing in front of about 15-17 frames per second, the recorder records the audio sounds. Feast on the street Palm! Holiday, unfortunately, strongly commends subbotnik. Applications for video and MP3 on Tungsten there. They need to acquire (for a fee, of course!) From third party (eg, Kinoma). However, considering the number of ... "Not quite legal" sites with software for Palm, it can be assumed that those who do not want to pay, pay will not. Compared with version 4.1, Palm OS 5 (at least on the Tungsten), significantly expanded set of integrated programs. In addition to the usual - Diary, Address Book, To-do list, notepad, notes - came here: the utility for sending SMS, E-Mail or dial directly from your address book, voice recorder, photo viewer, something like "learning tour" of the CCP. And found quite a decent set of "wireless" applications: VersaMail - email client with support for multiple accounts and exchange of attachments, the client sending SMS, very advanced web-Brauer, client AvantGo, wap-browser, dialer, and two utility for working with Bluetooth. One - a wireless chat, the second - a virtual "easel" in which users can run four Tungsten'ov simultaneously.
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| Bluetooth in Action |
Of course, not to be unfounded, we must thoroughly examine and test the new Palm OS 5 on, but at first glance - a very attractive device. Questions - not too little is 16 MB RAM (although, probably, if the expansion slot SD / MMC - is enough), but may "stretch" batteries (Simon Hosack said that five or six hours, and even if so, for self-respecting Palm'a a few!) why it is so expensive (approximately $ 550)? Nevertheless, the machine is very cool looking, works well, and will certainly sell well. Especially if the top sales will be supported by competent advertising company. And here is how everything will be fine - the big question. Throughout the world, Palm gradually ceded its position Microsoft with its Pocket PC. Issue PDAs to Palm OS 5 and the new cheaper model - one of the few remaining companies have chances to regain his confidence and market position. If the new products will be not too successful, Microsoft will eat just the market, while Palm will take on the position of the CCP for enthusiasts. In Russia, the situation for Palm generally catastrophic. In effect, probably some national contexts, we have more like Windows CE (Pocket PC in the history of Russia begins with this platform, not the Palm OS, as all over the world). Therefore, the Russian market has already outstripped the world trend - Pocket PC, Russians are buying more than Palm OS. Loud presentation involving multiple members of the media - a chance to win the position for the Palm. But this is a topic for another thought, the results of which will be published shortly on HPCru. And I would have bought a Tungsten. Beautiful. The authors, translation: